THE MAD MODULAR WORLD BT PHOBOS HANDS-ON WITH FREE DVD!

OF MATT LANGE REVEALED AN OUT OF THIS WORLD SYNTH 1.1+GB

Issue 170 May 2017

of samples
www.musictech.net
2.5+hours
of video

Issue 170
May 2017

WRITE A CHART HIT

The magazine for producers, engineers and recording musicians

All the tools, production tips

and inside knowledge you need

www.musictech.net

ON TEST

30 pages
Of modular, software &
producer-tech reviews
WORKSHOPS

Using Live and Link

Creative FX in Logic
Modular oscillation
www.musictech.net

May 2017
Issue 170
5.99

MT170.cover.indd 1 03/04/2017 10:37

 Welcome MT

Expert Panel
Studio Hardware John Pickford
A studio engineer for over 25 years, Johns
a keen sound-recording historian who has a
passion for valve-driven analogue equipment
and classic recording techniques.

Mixing/Mastering/Logic Mark Cousins

Mark specialises in sound design and
cinematic productions. Hes recorded with
orchestras across Europe and is heavily
involved in soundtrack composition.

Production Matthew Mann

Matthew Mann is a keyboardist, composer,
singer, writer and educator who spends much
of his time doing voiceover work, composing
original electronic music and fronting an 80s
tribute band.
Digital/Composition Andy Price
With a Masters in songwriting and a vast
interest in music history and recording
techniques, Andy works daily on MusicTech.net
and is currently heading up our songwriting and
Cubase series.
Recording & Guitar Tech Huw Price
A recording engineer since 1987, Huw has
worked with the likes of David Bowie, My
Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream, Depeche
Mode, Nick Cave, Heidi Berry and Fad Gadget.
Ableton Live Martin Delaney
Martin was one of the first UK Ableton-Certified
Trainers. Hes taught everyone from musicians
to psychiatric patients and written three books
about Live. Martin also designed the Kenton
Killamix Mini USB MIDI controller and is now
the editor of Ableton Live Expert.
Synthesisers/Modular Dave Gale
Dave is an award-winning media composer,
orchestrator and producer, with a passion for
synths and modulars in all their forms, whether
software, hardware, vintage or contemporary.
Electronic Music Alex Holmes
Alex has been a computer musician for 15
years, having a keen passion for beats, bass
and all forms of electronic music. Hes currently
involved in three different dance-music projects.
Pro Tools Mike Hillier
Mike spent five years at Metropolis Studios,
working alongside some of the best-known
mix and mastering engineers in the world.
He now works out of his own studio in London.
Saying the phrase
getting a record into
the charts could date
me to one of two eras.
Back in the 70s and 80s,
everyone wanted a hit
and thought they could
do it, even though there
was only one official
chart. It may surprise you that the second era is now (and
were still talking vinyl records, bizarrely). You may think
that attaining chart status is harder than ever but not
according to Marc JB, whose feature on p18 reveals that
with more charts out there, more hits can be had. And hes
had more than a few, so he knows what hes talking about
Next, it may not on the face of it be as exciting as having a chart hit, but to me
it is: sample management! Yes, this month Ive had the joy of using a new sample
cloud service called Loopcloud (p66) that makes sorting and auditioning your
samples a joy. It also interfaces with your DAW to make importing and matching
them with your current projects a beautiful thing. Who needs a chart hit when you
can do that? Certainly not me!
Easily as exciting as both of these is my hands-on action with Phobos, the
new library from Spitfire Audio. Moving away from its excellent orchestral
collections, this release takes an otherworldly tour in a spaceship piloted by BT,
and its quite a ride. Check out my preview on p6.
As ever, enjoy the issue!
Andy Jones Senior Editor
Email andy.jones@anthem-publishing.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MusicTechMag Twitter @AndyJonesMT
Instagram: musictech_official Tumblr: musictechofficial.tumblr.com

New to Music Tech?

VISIT OUR WEBSITE! Check out ouder
Head to our constantly updated website
Beg inners Gui
et
at musictech.n
for the latest news, reviews and 12 years
of quality content: www.musictech.net

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SUBS OFFER!
Subscribe and get a
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MAGAZINE May 2017 |3

MT170.welcome.indd 3 05/04/2017 11:17

 MT Contents

MT Contents
Issue 170 May 2017

WRITE A
CHART HIT P18
FREE SAMPLES! P114
REVIEWS P66
WORKSHOPS P49
MT Cover Feature MT Interview

Matt Lange
Modular madness

MT Studio

SHOW OFF YOUR STUDIO

More of your great setups

BT PHOBOS
Hands-on with Spitfire Audios new synth

4 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

MT170.contents.indd 4 05/04/2017 10:02

 Contents MT

MT Issue 170 Full listings

STUDIO
006 | Hands-on with BT Phobos
The Latest Reviews We get first dibs on the new synth
from Spitfire Audio

LOOPMASTERS LOOPCLOUD
Plus all the latest gear from Arturia, AJH, Erica Synths,
009 | Ikutaro Kakehashi
A tribute to the Roland founder
and inventor of the 303 and 808
Universal Audio, Plugin Alliance, Steinberg, AKG and more 012 | Show Off Your Studio
Your studios on show
COVER FEATURE
018 | Write A Chart Hit
The production tips, writing advice
and inside knowledge you need to
create a chart-topping tune
INTERVIEWS
034 | Matt Lange
Inside his modular world

Technique And Tutorials 042 | Olivier Giacomotto

From techno to film scores

49 MT Modular
TECHNIQUE
049 | MT Modular Monthly
Making the most of oscillators
052 | Ableton Live In Depth
Oscillate, oscillate and oscillate some more Using Link to sync

52 Live In Depth
058 | Logic In Depth
Using Logics effects creatively
SUBSCRIBE
096 | for a great offer
Using Link to sync up to other devices REVIEWS
066 | Loopmasters Loopcloud

58 Logic In Depth
A new way to manage your audio
and get it into your DAW
070 | Erica Synths Pico
A tiny but complete modular
Creative ways to use Logics built-in effects 077 | Steinberg Cubase 9
The latest update reviewed
082 | Plugin Alliance HG2
Analogue tube plug-in
MT 6 of the best 084 | UA API 2500

111 Microphones
Classic bus compressor goes soft
087 | AJH utility modules
A new set of modules on test
094 | AKG C7
Vocal hand-held condenser mic
098 | Arturia MatrixBrute
Massive new synth!
106 | Focusrite Red 8Pre
Latest high-end interface
109 | Mini Reviews
Smaller stuff on test
111 | 6 Of The Best
The best mics for all occasions
114 | On your MT DVD

MAGAZINE May 2017 |5

MT170.contents.indd 5 05/04/2017 10:02

 MT Studio
MTStudio
Round-ups Analysis Industry insight
HANDS-ON WITH BT PHOBOS
We like to get our hands on the best releases before everyone else and have
been lucky to have a working version of Spitfire Audios BT Phobos for a few
days before this issue hits the presses. Here are our initial thoughts
P
hobos is the brand-new instrument from Spitfire
Audio. Its the companys first standalone plug-in
instrument (AU, AAX, VST and VST3) and also its
first to branch fully away from its orchestral and
acoustic roots, reaching out, as it does, to completely new
sonic areas the stars, if you like. BT Phobos is a
collaboration with BT, a man not new to the world of music
technology. Hes featured in these pages on more than one
occasion, whether for his dance music, or live orchestral
work. Hes also no stranger to sonic tools, having developed
BreakTweaker and Stutter Edit, not to mention producing a
fantastic set of breaks sample CDs back in the day.
BT Phobos could, then, be the result of a perfect
partnership as Spitfire has regularly hit maximum review
scores for its libraries and instruments in MusicTech. But,
like we say, BT Phobos is different
6 | May 2017 MAGAZINE
MT170.StudioAJ.indd 6
FOR MORE
OF THE
LATEST NEWS
CHECK OUT
MUSICTECH.NET
The concept is that it is a synthesiser that draws on over
20GB of content and utilises Polyconvolution to blend, alter,
synthesise and modulate to create a diverse range of
ethereal, dramatic, ambient, and rhythmic sounds. We guess
the best adjectives are atmospheric and cinematic.
The GUI is something else, too. Its initially very black
and futuristic with an alien-like triangle symbol central to it,
but one that becomes clear to understand once you get you
head around the concept it soon becomes easy to figure
what is where, and why.
There are several types of sound, with categories like
Atonal; Harmonic And Melodic; Hybrid Melodic And
Rhythmic; or just Rhythmic. The source sounds are loaded by
menus at the top and you can search by name, type, pitch,
tag and BPM. Each has an array of sonic options that you get
access to, like Filter, Envelope, and Gate, and there are more
06/04/2017 08:54
 Studio MT

options under the Mapping tab, where you can set

modulation sources and destinations. The overall effect
of this is a lot of options for movement and evolution of
your source sounds.
These sound sources are then fed then into up to three
Convolvers and its within these that even more synthesis
action can happen. You can choose waveforms to shape the
sources; adjust octave pitch and filter; open another
Mappings tab for more modulation; and also get access to
those Filter and Envelope parameters. In short, theres
almost too much to do to those source sounds, so some
stepping back is often needed, as it can be easy to dive in too
deeply. The central triangle effectively acts like a mixer for
your four sources and how they interact with the Convolvers.
It contains icons for all four source sounds and you can drag
each closer to the Convolvers to increase the effect of these
on each of the sources. PRESETS You select those (currently provided by BT,
Finally, at the bottom of the screen is a set of keyboard
01 Paul Thomson and Richard Devine) from types like:
maps for both the four Sources and three Convolvers, so its Atonal; Harmonic And Melodic; Hybrid Melodic And Rhythmic;
easy to patch their effects across your keyboard range. or Rhythmic. And damn-fine sounding they are, too

Sextillion sounds
This is a complex beast with allegedly a sextillion ways of
combining sounds yes, that is a word, and refers to a rather
huge number: a 1 and 37 noughts apparently, so quite a lot of
options! Yet despite the depth that you can go and the vast
range of options at your fingers BT Phobos is actually fairly
easy to get your head around. We found that after a few days
with the software, we were not only able to create complex
and evocative scores that would suit any film, but very often
we could do that with just one sound sometimes even just
one note! That is because the real beauty lies in layering
rhythmic sounds to lush and distant pads to create these
instant one-note textures. Then, in real time, utilising the
Convolvers to change that sound subtly and not-so subtly
it really does give impressive results.
So who is it suited to? While the sounds are often very
alien science-fiction filmmakers will love them we were SOURCES You select each of the four sound sources by
02 clicking on the name. Search these sources by name,
getting some very diverse results after spending more time
or narrow them down by key, tempo (as shown, a drop-down
with BT Phobos. Instant ambient moods, subtle textures that
menu appears) or by how the source is tagged.
can add atmosphere to any project and many genres. We
added them to a whole bunch of very different tracks and it
gave them everything from a dark edge to a completely new
rhythmic addition. Its certainly no one-trick pony. Its a
sextillion-trick pony, we guess [Careful now Ed]
Its also worth noting that this software is clearly aimed at
sound designers as well as producers: youll create your own
sounds and sound effects very easily with it. It might not be
the plug-in your turn to to get a specific sound that you have
in mind, but after 10 minutes experimenting, youll end up
with something that sounds great and will be either usable
within an existing project, provide the inspiration to kickstart
a new one, or even become a tune in its own right.
Theres a lot to talk about under the hood and so much
musicality and sonic potential that we didnt want to rush a
review proper out in this issue, so well be reviewing BT
MODULATION Within the Mapping sections of both the
Phobos next month in MusicTech. However, after having 03 Source sounds and Convolvers, you get access to loads
spent a week with the software so far, we cant see it leaving of modulation options where you can apply sources to
our computer any time soon. MT destinations and a whole lot more.

MAGAZINE May 2017 |7

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 Studio MT

IKUTARO KAKEHASHI OBITUARY

7 F E B R U A R Y 19 3 0 T O 1 A P R I L 2 0 17
Ikutaro Kakehashi, founder of Roland, passed away on 1 April 2017,
at the age of 87. Dave Gale salutes a pioneer of electronic music

T
hough not a name identifiable to many, the
instruments that Ikutaro Kakehashi helped to pioneer
adorned the tracks of so many musical acts, it might
be easier to list the musicians that were not touched
by his ingenious creations.
Born in Osaka, Japan, in 1930, Kakehashi grew up to
become an engineer, repairing and designing electronic
organs during the 50s, but it quickly became apparent to him
that he wanted to devote his life to the pursuit of creating the
ideal electronic musical instrument. In 1964, he developed
the R1 Rhythm Ace drum machine, which eventually went
into production in 1967 as a 16-pattern, preset-rhythm
machine marketed as the FR-1 Rhythm Ace.
However, it was in April of 1972 that Kakehashi founded
the Roland Corporation and worked to provide musicians
with an unbelievable wealth of electronic instruments,
concepts and designs, many of which are now regarded as
highly influential and modern-day classics.
With the strapline We design the future, Rolands first
commercial product was the TR-77 drum machine, also from
1972, which was an update of the earlier Rhythm Ace
machine. This was quickly followed by further drum
machines, in the shape of the TR-33 and TR-55 and the
development of Rolands first synthesisers, the SH-3 and
SH-1000, which came the following year. But it was during
the late 70s and early 80s that the marque of Roland rose
to prominence in the synth world, with a run of classic
machines which were largely more affordable than the
competition and are now highly sought after by many for
their classic sound, which still has its place in the production
of contemporary and electronic music.
Reading like a whos who of classic synths, the SH-1,
SH-2, SH-09 and SH-101 monosynths all stem from the
late-70s/early-80s era, offering an immensely fat-sounding
oscillator section, coupled with a highly recognisable filter,
which in all cases self oscillated. Not confined to

MAGAZINE May 2017 |9

MT170.Obituary.indd 9 05/04/2017 10:18

 MT Studio

remodelled Boutique series that so

clearly reimagines the originals.
As if this legacy of varied,
inspirational machines was not enough,
Kakehashi was also one of the driving forces
behind the concept of MIDI, for which he shared a
Grammy with Dave Smith (formerly of Sequential
Circuits) for technical innovation.
Kakehashi retired from Roland in 2013, but his influence
on the commercial music landscape over the last 40 years is
both wonderful and beguiling, in equal measure. Kakehashis
Roland might have designed the future, but the innovative
Above:
Rolands machines that he gave to so many musicians continue to
early SH-3a inspire leftfield creativity and remain a touchstone for the
monosynth
development of electronic music as we know it today. MT
Right: A clutch of
classic Roland
machines, which
outlived their remit
and went on to
dominate the world
monosynths,
of electronic music:
the Roland the TR-909 Rhythm
Jupiter and Juno Composer, the
TB-303 Bass Line,
series offered the System-100
polysynths at various and the TR-808
price points, from the
gloriously affordable Junos to the lust-worthy Jupiters.
We mustnt forget that Roland also bought us modulars,
in the shape of the System 700, the semi-modular System
100 and the Studio System-100M, all of which have gone on
to attain legendary status. But to many, the biggest legacy
that Kakehashi leaves behind resides in products that were

For many, Kakehashis legacy

resides in products conceived
for use in karaoke tracks
originally conceived as domestic items, for use in the
creation of karaoke backing tracks.
The TR-606 Drumatix drum machine and TB-303 Bass
Line machine were cheap and cheerful devices, which never
really took off as commercial products or at least that was
until the bedroom producers from the late 80s and early 90s
started buying them up in droves, from secondhand ads, and
started making electronic music with them. It was a
similar story with the TR-808 and TR-909 drum
machines; as their sounds started to fall out of
favour with the production styles of the mid 80s,
these machines re-emerged as machines of
choice for the electronic music pioneers that
followed a few years later.
The TR-808 quickly became the machine for
use in rap and hip-hop, while the TR-909
developed a similar stranglehold in house
music, with the identifiable kick, snare and
hats becoming omnipresent across numerous
genres. This still continues today, with many
virtual and reimagined incarnations of these
classics being developed, both by third
parties and by Roland itself, with the

10 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

MT170.Obituary.indd 10 05/04/2017 10:19

 CHANGING THE
DYNAMIC
On tour with Blossoms and the new Shure KSM8

The KSM8 is a really great transition from the Shure Beta 58s that
weve used for some time now. Its very similar audio-wise but when
Tom moves his head to the side it doesnt thin out anymore, which
is beneficial for the in-ears. I dont need to chop any of the usual
250hz like you usually do and it has a great even tone all the way
to the top. There really is very minimal EQing required to make the
KSM8 sound nice through any PA.

- Chris Pearce, FOH Engineer

KSM8
DUALDYNE VOCAL MICROPHONE

Wired and wireless options available, with

choice of black or brushed nickel finish.

Find out how we did it at:

ksm8.shure.eu

Blossoms, Manchester Academy. Photography: Shirlaine Forrest.

#42568 - KSM8 Blossoms Ad - Music Tech.indd 1 03/03/2017 13:41

 MT STUDIO Show off your studio

Show off
your studio
Upload a shot of your studio to the
MusicTech Facebook page and you too
could feature here in Show Off Your
Studio. This month were off to Germany
for a great pro and Eurorack space
Never have we seen such
a glorious integration of
Eurorack with a pro studio

More Accurate Consultants

Interviewee: Robert Hauck
Contact: rh@wearemac.de

MusicTech: Tell us about
your studio?
Robert Hauck: The complex has a
long and infamous history. It was
started decades ago by Michael
Mnzing and Luca Anzilotti,
founding SNAP!, Moses P. and Logic
Records over to Eye Q and Harthouse
Records in the 90s. It gave artists
like DJ Hell, Laurent Garnier,
Resistance D. and Anthony Rother a
space for their creativity,
productions and output. From my
perspective, this is the ideal place to
grow ideas and to get together with
clients from all over the world, with
our business having recently
expanded to retail of high-end
outboard gear, Eurorack modular
and room acoustics, under the brand
More Accurate.
Within this, we have specialists
from all over Germany for recording,
voiceover, mixing and mastering
engineers all working in the studio.
We help customers find the right
gear and sound for their needs and
also run conferences and events.
MT: Give us a rundown of the gear
in the studio
Our philosophy is: sound can always
only be as good as the room and the
components that deliver it and what
is received by the ear. So, get your
room, angles and distances right

110| |May
12 November
2017 2015 MAGAZINE MAGAZINE

MT169 SOYS.indd 12 03/04/2017 11:01


before spending a fortune on
equipment which wont make it any
better. So, starting with the most
important part of the studio
Room acoustics: our core studio
room was designed in the 90s as a
room-in-room, based on a concept
widely known as LEDE. The room
acoustics are custom-manufactured
modules as well as those from our
main commercial supplier Artnovion.
Monitoring: Crane Song Avocet with
Quantum convertor a luxury piece
of art and sound; Meyer Sound HD-1
stereo nearfield, a classic reference
speaker; KS Digital ADM-10 stereo
midfield; Genelec 1031 APM and
1092; RFT BR 25 (today known as
MT169 SOYS.indd 13
STUDIO Show off your studio MT
ME Geithain) small but lovely, with
good representation of what you
have basically been doing; plus an
ART power supply clean power
makes a lot of difference.
DAW/main hardware: Apple Mac
Pro 8-core; Antelope Orion 32 the
heart of our system, solid wide
sound with a great clock; RME ADI-8
DD; UAD-2 Duo; Mackie Control.
Analogue and digital hardware:
(part of the test and sales system)
TC 6000 System; Shadow Hills
mastering compressor; Thermionic
Culture Fat Bustard; Manley Massive
Passive; Bettermaker EQP-232;
Manley Vari-Mu; More Accurate
Audio custom summing mixer; Kush
Audio Clariphonic; Lexicon 300;
Eventide Space; Roland SDE-330;
Toft ATB-16 (analogue mixer and
multitrack output for the modular
section); Roland TR-909 (its the
groove and masterclock of the
modular system).
Software: Korg Legacy Collection
(been in love with the Korg MS-20
filter for at least 10 years); Soundtoys
bundle; Slate Digital bundle;
Universal Audio UAD emulations.
Modular/Eurorack:the backdrop
of the studio and constantly
changing, so our clients can test
what they like. Broadly, it comprises
an ARP 1613 analogue sequencer
that works perfectly with todays
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 13
03/04/2017 11:01
 MT STUDIO
Show off
your
Showstudio
off your studio

More Accurate
(contd)
Eurorack format.We have modules
from Verbos Electronics; Mutable
Instruments; Frap Tools (mixers);
Endorphin.es; Erica Synths; Make
Noise; Noise Engineering; custom
modules based on Moog, Roland and
ARP; Music Thing Modular; Tiptop
Circadian Rhythm; and Vermona.

MT: Favourite gear? Basically, there

is no favourite. We only have gear in
we love and use, there is none we
would consider as unnecessary. As
our motto says: we only sell what we
love to use and abuse!

MT: How much time do you get to

spend in the studio each week?
Not sure if you should really
print this due to German working The ever-changing
modular setup
restrictions, but to be honest,
(above), the live room
70 to 80 hours per week is (right) and the ARP
probably average. sequencer that
controls the Eurorack

MT: How do you use your studio?

The main use is still for production,
mixing and mastering. Over the past
three to four years, its also used as a
demo room and sales for high-end
outboard, speakers, modular and
room acoustics. Nonetheless, anyone
is welcome to work here!

MT: Whats next on your shopping

list, gear-wise?
To name but a few:a Crookwood
Mastering Console, which will
provide more routing flexibility
through the master chain of the
Lexicon 480 Im not aware of
anything comparable to it.

MT: Dream gear?

Ha ha, thats an unfair question!
A Fairchild, just to own one and
sometimes cuddle it, and probably
an original Keith Emerson signed
Emerson Moog Modular. An EMI
Abbey Road REDD.37 console
could also be considered: hail to
The Beatles!

MT: Any advice for aspiring

producers and studio owners?
Team up with others, as no one can
do or know everything everyone
has their own field of expertise.
Be thankful for the ones who
criticise. Finally, always stay true
to your ideas.

110| |May
14 November
2017 2015 MAGAZINE MAGAZINE

MT169 SOYS.indd 14 03/04/2017 11:01

 STUDIO MONITOR SYSTEMS

The Neumann Monitor Line

Believe what you hear.

KH 80 DSP KH 120 A/D KH 310 A/D KH 420 KH 805 / 810 KH 870 www.neumann.com
 MT STUDIO
Show off
your
Showstudio
off your studio
Brandon Mints studio
Contact: brandonmintsopoulos@gmail.com
MusicTech: Tell us more
Brandon: My studio is located in
Toronto, Ontario. Ive been working
on it for two years. Itd be amazing
if I had the same equipment as a
pro studio, but Im more productive
and comfortable when Im in my
own work space.
Give us a rundown of the gear
MacBook Pro; ART power
conditioner; Focusrite 18i20
interface; TK Audio BC1-S
compressor; Korg minilogue synth;
Yamaha HS8 monitors; AKG K271
MKII headphones; Tascam LD-74
condenser mic; Pioneer XDJ-RX
mixer; Akai MPK mini keyboard;
Acorn Masterkey 49-key MIDI
keyboard; Waves Gold bundle;
FabFilter full bundle.
How do you use your studio? For
mixing, producing and mastering
records. Sometimes I record vocals,
110| |May
16 November
2017 2015 MAGAZINE MAGAZINE
MT169 SOYS.indd 16
Were not saying that
well-lit studios always
earn a place in Show Off
Your Studio but it
certainly helps
Just get the gear
you need
(and blue lights)
but I prefer to record them at a Brandons outboard
professional recording studio. brings his music to life
Favourite gear? My TK BC1-S. Every
time I throw records through it, it
just brings them to life!
Next on your shopping list? So
many things A Manley SLAM!
limiter; Elysia Karacter Saturator;
SSL G comp; a pair of distressors;
Shadow Hills Dual Vandergraph;
Focusrite Red 4Pre; SSL AWS
console; Adam A7 monitors; UAD
1176; SSL 500 Series EQs
Any advice? Invest as much time as
you can. It doesnt take long to learn
the basics behind production, but
make sure you dont stress yourself
out. Take a couple of hours out of
your day to practice, always
practice! Also, following pages like
Music Tech can be very helpful. [A
plug for us always helps! Ed.] MT
03/04/2017 11:02
 BERLIN BRASS

MUTED BRASS

EXTENDING
NG
THE BEST
Berlin Brass Muted Brass is an extremely detailed sampled Brass Collection that
delivers nine outstanding instruments (two ensembles and seven solo instruments).
Use the dierent recorded mutes like Harmon Stem In, Harmon Stem Half-In,
Straight Mute or Stopped Mute to provide remarkable and unique shades to your
arrangements. Combined with Berlin Brass Main or on its own these muted
instruments extend your brass palette with brand new colors in a diversity never
experienced.

Berlin Brass Muted Brass is based on CAPSULE for Kontakt.

AVAILABLE AT ORCHESTRALTOOLS.COM
 MT Feature How To Write A Chart Hit

MT Cover Feature

How To Write
A Chart Hit
With Ed Sheeran owning the main charts these days, you might think it is an
impossible dream to get a chart hit. Not so! With over 80 No. 1 records as one
half of Bimbo Jones, Marc JB certainly knows how to get topside of a chart.
Here, he details ways in which you can still do the same and covers some of
the production tips and writing tricks you can use to secure chart status

18 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

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 How To Write A Chart Hit Feature MT

S
o you want to write a chart hit? The good
news is there are many charts from
national to specialist online DJ charts so
with focus, good music and determination
on your side, getting a chart hit is a reality.
Here is a step-by-step breakdown of what to
consider during the process to get you to the top.
Perhaps you have the germ of an idea or a general
inkling of the type of genre that you would like to
conquer, maybe you would simply love to have a
chart hit and have no idea which genre to go for
The reality is that no-one topped the charts just
by being incredibly lucky. Even though some
producers/artists make it look easy, they have huge
dedication behind their presence. Take a step back
from all your work for one minute and consider this:
are you passionate about what you do? Are you going
for something realistically achievable? To get true
momentum going, its best to regroup your thoughts
about your music and make a plan see where you
want to be and plot that path there.
By consistently moving in the same, musical
direction, such inertia is built up that nothing can
stop you! Look at your market, at the successful
pioneers in your genre and who you are selling to.
Achieving a specialist chart position (eg, the
Beatport Glitch-Hop chart), or getting to the top of a
playlist on SoundCloud, is going to take a very
different plan than getting a No. 1 in the Billboard
Hot 100. With Beatport, you can get on friendly terms
with the DJs, building up profile and support that
quickly gets you to the top. With the Billboard 100
you are most likely to get there if you are working on
a production team with a major record company.

MAGAZINE May 2017 | 19

MT170.Feature Chart hit.indd 19 05/04/2017 09:45

 MT Feature How To Write A Chart Hit

THREE GREAT VST EFFECTS FOR HITTING THE CHARTS This latter route is obviously not that easy, but
DAWs have a plethora of good VST effects these days. If you want to go for everything is achievable so set yourself a realistic
something really special, check out these useful tools to inspire your sound design target for your chart conquest

EVENTIDE H3000 Choose your style

FACTORY Sometimes, its all too easy to overlook the obvious!
This combines the pitch, Have a listen to successful, similar tunes in your
delay, modulation, and genre. You dont want to be ripping off melody or
filtering that made the blatantly copying the groove (especially after the
original H3000 Ultra- Robin Thicke/Marvin Gaye court case). Instead, have
Harmonizer a studio
a listen to the production techniques used, the types
legend. Producers used
this to disguise out-of- of sound and the lyrical style and use the essence of
tune vocals before these tracks to inspire your own creation. Research
Auto-Tune! Great on the teams around successful artists, reach out to
thickening vox, guitar those same people and make them aware of your
chorus, juicy percussion, music. If you want to have hit in the style of an
bringing presence and
artist, contact their PR team, management and
stereo width. Crazy
pitched delays make this record company, collaborate with their collaborators
a fun plug-in to inspire. and connect into that network. If there is no reply
the first time, they will have seen your name and you
IZOTOPE will have planted a seed in their heads.
STUTTER EDIT The one ingredient for a great tune that is
Remix sounds live, essential above all others is creative authenticity.
use a keyboard to Anyone can see through a tune that has been
trigger the FX and painted by numbers and made according to a
crush, delay and formula. The trick is to make something that has
stutter your vocals,
passion. In the future, we are going to see a whole
glitch your pads and
destroy your drums! plethora of music designed and produced by AI, so
This has the FX that now is the time to make inspiring music with
makes everyone say, heartfelt emotion that connects with the listeners.
How the hell did Decide upon your avenue of release if you are
they do that? I find going for a specialist chart, have a look how they
this amazing on bass
compile their data. If the figures are calculated from
and pad sounds.
downloads, you will need to sell your tune online
where sales count (check out www.cdbaby.com) or
license to a record company with clout. Many charts
are worked out from DJ reactions in this case,
employ the services of a promo company and reach
out to those DJs through social digital media.
A quick thought on record companies, managers,

A glimpse into Marc JBs

studio and his latest
recording project, destined
for chart status

IK MULTIMEDIA ARC 2
This is probably the most practical tool in my studio. Purists say that you should get
to know your speakers and mix off the coloured sound. I say sod that and use ARC 2
room correction for a flat and tight, transferable sound. Plug the measurement mic
into your sound interface, place the mic at ear level around your listening position
and allow ARC 2 to measure and compensate for annoying room modes and
speaker EQ humps. I love ARC 2 I can work in any room, on any speakers and get a
sound I know and trust.

20 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

MT170.Feature Chart hit.indd 20 05/04/2017 09:45

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 MT Feature How To Write A Chart Hit
TUTORIAL 1 Side Gating The Bass Using The Kick
This is a great technique to get energy in a track, this also makes your tune sound
bigger on little phone speakers. This works on bass, pads, synths and FX. Warning
dont overuse, as it can sound fatiguing!
Make a trigger track using a kick sample with a very fast transient.
01
Make a Bus/Group I call mine Inst add a compressor, route the kick
02 trigger into the sidechain of the compressor. Check out my settings for a
good punchy sound!
For the example, I have recorded a pad down as an audio file (orange). Send
03 this into the Inst Bus/Group for instant sidechaining! Below (yellow) I have
mixed down the result to show how the sound is altered.
agents etc. The emphasis is no longer on artist
development, so they will not usually take on an
artist and build a brand: they are all looking for a There is a ceiling in the music
ready-developed product so they can pay their bills
with the commission. To gain the interest of the industry, and above it no-one will
industry, build up your profile, fanbase, performance
income and make it a no-brainer for them to take work with precious, greedy, needy,
you on. We cover building a brand in our Raise Your
Profile features at www.musictech.net, but the idea self-absorbed numbskulls
22 | May 2017 MAGAZINE
MT170.Feature Chart hit.indd 22
Industry
T I P
Stand to attention
The track has to stand out from
everything else and have fresh and
creative elements to it. It has to grab your
attention. It doesnt matter if its dance,
pop, urban or any other style the
production has to be strong and
have a solid hook of some sort
(vocal or loop). TRACEY WEBB
(DIRECTOR POWER
PROMOTIONS)
is to deliver
the whole
package.
Recording advice
When it comes to writing and recording,
collaboration is a powerful tool. Many times when
working with someone, you learn their tricks and
swap contacts. Be open and good natured, because
there is a ceiling in the music industry and above
that, there are no idiots simply no-one will work
with precious, greedy, needy, self-absorbed
numbskulls. You can collaborate with singers,
producers, musicians, arrangers, tech companies,
brands and community groups for beneficial results.
For example, if you are recording a local choir on the
record, you instantly have the performers, their
friends and family on your Number One Fan list!
Reach out and think big, get some energy behind
you, make yourself the hub and bring people
together to make some waves. Collaborate with a DJ
who is already playing big crowds go and see 3,000
people go mental to your tune!
A modern studio is not what it used to be. At a
bare minimum, you will need a computer, DAW
(Digital Audio Workstation), speakers or headphones,
an optional mic if recording vocals and plenty of tea.
For my small setup (which I take out in a camper van
and produce by the sea), I use a Mac laptop,
Steinberg UR22mkII USB interface, Sontronics mic,
Cubase, Yamaha Reface CS keyboard and HS5
Yamaha speakers. In Velvet Jam studio, I have an
RME UFX+ interface, Focal SM9 speakers and
Cubase 9. Choose what feels right for you. Dont get
so caught up in the equipment that youre distracted
from the creative process. Creating should be
organic and the tech is the tool to get you there. Be
inventive with what you have some legendary
tunes were created on very simple setups. It was
because the artists and producers pushed the
limitations of the gear that they found a signature
sound. One tool I have found invaluable is IK
05/04/2017 09:45
 SONTRONICS
S
best
O
N
Microphone
T
R
brand
O

www.sontronics.com
N
I
C

TUTORIAL 2 Resampling A Vocal

Rich, smooth, stunning

my first choice every time
JAMES IVEY, Producer & Technical Editor, Pro Tools Expert

Place hit-points at the start of transients or during held

MERCURY
NEW! variable-pattern
01 notes in a vocal line. Cut the audio on these hit-points. valve condenser mic
hand-built in the UK

Drag the cut-up vocal into a sampler like HALion or Kontact

02 and select the option for the vocal slices to be assigned
across the keys chromatically.

The pinnacle of microphone engineering
combined with our passion for creating

beautiful yet affordable microphones

TREVOR COLEY, Sontronics founder & designer

Play the track and use your keyboard to trigger the samples:
03 think more along the lines of making rhythms out of the
cut-up vox. Use the pitch wheel to get the riffs twerking away.
SONTRONICS USERS INCLUDE: KATIE MELUA ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS
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ED HARCOURT ENTER SHIKARI SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR AND MORE

MT170.Feature Chart hit.indd 23 05/04/2017 11:20

 MT Feature How To Write A Chart Hit

TUTORIAL 3 Mastering Chains

There are many ways to master a tune here is one
such good method. We will be covering Back To Basics
Mastering in a forthcoming MusicTech issue

Make sure your master stereo out is peaking up

01 to -4dB to prevent any clipping. Use an imaging
and exciter plug-in to widen and bring harmonic
colouring to areas of your mix if required.

02 Shape your mix with EQ, mastering is all about
small changes adding up to make a big impact,
so use gentle EQ sweeps to shape the mix. On most
music, there is a hump of energy around the bass and
then the energy slowly curves off up the frequencies.
prism-musictech-30th-ad-Mar17-v4.qxp_Layout 1 28/03/2017 17:01
Use a multi- or single-band compressor to bring weight and presence into the
03
mix; dont squash the hell out of it at this point! Maximise the mix using a
brick-wall limiter, you can set your max level to -0.1dB to prevent clipping. Adjust
your threshold till the sound is getting distortion artefacts and then back it off
slightly. Make sure the sound is dithered to the sample rate you are mixing down to.
16-bit
Page 1 44.1kHz WAV or AIFF is CD-audio standard.

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MT170.Feature Chart hit.indd 24 05/04/2017 09:45

 How To Write A Chart Hit Feature MT

GOOD MONITORING
I once had some awful speakers (not naming names!) which had a null at the low conga EQ position.
Every time I mixed in a low conga, it would sound awful anywhere else and totally dominate the mix.
Its therefore well worth setting up monitors for optimum listening, and here are a few tips to get you going,

THE TRIANGLE
Imagine the monitors and you make an
equilateral triangle, with the monitors
turned in so they are pointing at your ears.
YOUR POSITION
Monitors should ideally be at head height with the tweeters at ear level.

YOUR ROOM
A good room has a range
of damped and reflective
surfaces. Look into
putting bass traps in the
corners and damping
panels at the reflection
points. To find a
reflection point, put a
mirror on your wall
where can you see your
speaker is where the
sound reflects from.
www.gikacoustics.co.uk
does a great range of
panels and traps.

MONITOR VIBRATION
If monitors are sitting on a
desk, they may vibrate
the surface and cause
unwanted colour to the NOT TOO LOUD
sound. So isolate them Many monitors sound more
with a foam block, put edgy as they are turned up
NG rubber feet on them or as distortion harmonics
OS even put them on breeze creep into the amplifier and
LM blocks to dampen the speaker cones. This gives
SIC vibration transmission. the sound a false energy
OF and presence that will not
WN translate to your master.
TY Keep the monitors backed
NN off to a comfortable level.
TY If you are getting ringing in
HIT your ears after long use, you
OS have them too loud and can
ESS risk getting tinnitus. If you
ALL want to listen loud, turn
S them up for a short while
C and then back off. Always love
ER and look after your hearing.

MAGAZINE May 2017 | 25

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 MT Feature How To Write A Chart Hit
Multimedia ARC 2, a room-correction
mic and plug-in that smooths out
speaker problems and room modes.
With this, I find that my sound can
translate to any environment with good
results, whether its a PA system, laptop
speaker, car stereo or a lift.
When producing vocals, get a clean
recording process. Todays discerning
listeners expect a certain level of Auto-
Tune in most genres, so make sure the
vocals are in tune but not sounding artificial
(unless that is the desired effect), then produce
with good plug-ins. Most DAWs have very good
built-in plug-ins, but you can also look at buying a
specialist vocal plug-in like iZotopes Nectar 2 vocal
plugin or Eventides UltraChannel.
Industry
T I P
Focus on a fan
Create a Fan Persona for social-media marketing. This is an invaluable
exercise and helps you connect effectively with your current fans and
potential ones, too. Start by looking at your current fanbase and
construct a persona of a typical fan. Look at their gender, age, location,
what other artists they are following and what their non-music
interests might be. The more specific these are, the more targetted
and therefore effective your future marketing campaigns will be.
Give them a name and find a picture that you think best
represents them. Pin it to the wall. Now, when youre thinking
about creating/sharing content across your channels,
ask yourself Would XXX like this? This will also make
paid advertising through platforms like Facebook
much easier. PETE CHALLIS (AUDIO ENTREPRENEUR)

FOUR GREAT HIT-HELPING VST INSTRUMENTS

You dont have to be a piano virtuoso to play good catchy riffs and melodies. In fact, the fewer notes you play,
the better and phatter the mix can sound. These are some of the VST Instruments I love to use in the studio

REFX NEXUS 2 IZOTOPE IRIS 2

A powerhouse of sounds with new, genre-defining sound sets
released regularly. Its an electronic synth heavyweight, with some
highly recognisable presets. Check out Dance Piano 2k can you
hear which dancefloor smash it featured on?
Warm, useful and quirky sounds including tight basses, evolving pads
and rhythmic landscapes make this a versatile and satisfying
instrument to inspire that special sound in a hit tune. With an 11GB
sample bank, almost every sound is excellent. Iris 2 is also a fully
fledged sampler with four layers and a revolutionary spectral filter
page where you can paint in wonderful evolving filters.

STEINBERG GROOVE AGENT 4 LENNARDIGITAL SYLENTH

This is a stellar drum machine. The sounds are highly creative for What a warm and enigmatic beast perfect to inspire electronic-
electronic and acoustic beats. My favourite way of using it is to use music creation.
hit-points to cut up a vocal and drag into Groove Agent for instant
glitch vocal inspiration.

26 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

MT170.Feature Chart hit.indd 26 05/04/2017 09:45

 MT Feature How To Write A Chart Hit
TUTORIAL 4 Vocal Production
Here are some useful ideas to make your vocal take shine in the mix. First add
01 some EQ and compression. In the example, Im using Eventides UltraChannel.
I gave the vocal a boost at 8kHz for some Air and have also added a high-pass filter
to remove any rumbling or Plosives. Next, add gentle compression, a ratio of 2:1 to
4:1. Adjust the threshold to get about 5dB of gain reduction on the loud passages.
Ive also added some Micro Pitch Shift on the UltraChannel, which gives the vox
some stereo width and modulation.
Control the sibilance (S, T, Sh, Ch sounds) with a DeEsser. Dont push it too two seconds is enough for them to love you or
02 hard or the air will be lost. I love Steinbergs Quadrafuzz to add some selective
top-end tape distortion to lift the vocal out of the track.
Make the vocal sound EPIC with a touch of reverb and delay. Here, I have used
03 Eventides UltraVerb and the Cubase standard delay. Experiment with the
tools in your DAW to get your perfect sound or invest in specialist software like
iZotopes Nectar.
28 | May 2017 MAGAZINE
MT170.Feature Chart hit.indd 28
When I was crafting the Bimbo Jones sound
back in the late 90s with co-producer (and fellow
godfather to our managers son, Archie) Lee Dagger,
we would make a tune in the studio and play it out
live. Lee DJd it out in a packed room in places like
The Cross and I would stand in the crowd and watch
reactions. I learned one of the most important
lessons while doing this: you cant hear much in a
club! On great studio speakers, you can hear all the
elements of a track in microscopic detail. But take it
to a club, at best you can hear the kick, a bit of bass,
vocal and a synth.
So when building a 12" track, each sound coming
in has to blow you away: the drums have to be
amazing, the bass takes the track to another level,
the individual synths are standalone amazing, and
all elements are epic. Take out any mediocre sounds
from your production and make everything the best
thing you have ever heard. In producing a chart
topper, there is no room for I like it, it has to be
I love it, and I wanna dance for days on end!. Make
sure sounds with a similar frequency range do not
fight for EQ space. Even better, produce your track
from the ground up to give everything space to shine.
Most successful tracks have very few elements, but
sound much more as the sum of their parts.
Use some great creative effects, try delays with
chorus on the vox (eg, amazing delay/pitch plug-ins
from www.eventideaudio.com), use filters and
reverbs to bring movement and life to synths, evolve
the track to make every turn and twist uplift the
listener into sublime, musical ecstasy!
Radio edits are typically three to three-and-a-half
minutes long. There are no hard and set rules, but
its good to make sure the main hook comes in up
front, tease the listener as soon as they push play
completely lose interest and skip to the next track.
Build it up and then bring it down again tension
and release in the arrangement will keep them
hooked. If youre going for an underground smash,
you will need a 12" DJ mix lasting five-and-a-half to
seven minutes. Start and finish the production with
drums only to make it for easy DJ mixing. Now is
also a good time to A-B with the other hot tracks in
your genre.
Play your record to select fans for feedback and
be aware of critical feedback. Some people are really
helpful and give you great pointers, but if you take
everyones comments into consideration and
compromise your track, you could lose the original
essence. There are some people out there who put
others down around them to feel better (its not their
fault, they know no other way and need some love in
their lives!) which, if not recognised, can make you
lose faith in yourself. I have met many of these
people along the way I wish them well, some are
still stuck in their negative spirals and never get
through that glass ceiling in the industry.
Master your tracks: there are great online services
for mastering or you can do it in the box. DAWs have
plug-ins for mastering, or invest in specialist
software for the job, like the beautifully designed
iZotope Ozone 7. Listen in the car/laptop/mates
speakers to make sure its sounding amazing.
05/04/2017 09:45

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 MT Feature How To Write A Chart Hit
Industry
T I P
Get your record out there!
Hit up all the DJs on the chart
Engage
you are conquering, contact Once you have created your hit single, get it out into the world, communicate the
all the marketing agencies, essentials about your music and engage your fans. So how do you send out
blogs and digital forums that the right information and what should you include? Create a simple Electronic
your fellow artists are using,
Press Kit with all your social-media links listed e.g. Facebook, Twitter,
build momentum and create a
concrete profile. Weve written
Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat ensuring that the links are working and
complete features about how up to date. Create short bios for different channels e.g. 140 characters
to raise your profile and get for Twitter, 50 words for Facebook and 100 words for traditional
noticed if youve collected press or blogs. If the editor wants more, they will get back to you. Attach
MusicTech over the years, then images that can be used across all social channels that are the right
check issues 133 and 134 or the
size and proportions. If you send me a 25MB pic, you can guarantee
feature at www.musictech.
net/2014/06/get-your-music-heard I wont use it on social. Create a 20-second video saying how
pleased you are to be playing at Venue/Festival X or
More networking introducing your new single. This may sound simple
If you feel getting into a writing group/ but sending through the right info will get you
inner sanctum seems like an impossible
featured online and profiled in the press helping
task, dont worry use the theory of gentle
pressure. Align yourself with their network and
you on your journey to success. SALLY J FREEMAN
gently let them know about you one day they will PRESS & DIGITAL MANAGER
reach out and invite you in to see what youre made SILVER HAYES, GLASTONBURY
of. This generally happens when someone doesnt
turn up and they need a new talent for an urgent job.
Decide carefully where you will invest your time.
I ran a record label for a time and most of the PR I people with information, use gentle pressure.
did brought back no return, it was a complete waste Have faith in yourself, you are the master creator
of time. Reach out to your network through forums and shaper of your music and destiny, you only need
and ask fellow producer/artists what works. If you to find people and communities you resonate with to
are thinking of putting your own house record out be appreciated and nurtured. Have a realistic plan
and want a chart position in the Music Week club and set your sights on an achievable chart to climb,
chart, try Power Promotions. Build your profile on know what makes your chart work and get stuck in
your chosen platform (SoundCloud/Facebook/ there. Decide on your direction and keep on track. It
Bandcamp etc) bringing in genuine fans dont takes many steps to get there, dont focus too much
forget that family and friends may be willing fans on the end result, remember to have a bloody good
it has to start somewhere. Dont spam or overload laugh on the journey! MT

Raise your profile

Put your music online. Here are the best sites

1. AUDIOMACK decision makers: no middle men, no 6. YOURLISTEN

Audiomack.com
@audiomack
They say Find the hottest music of today, ranked
in real time. Trending music on other sites is
often months old. Audiomack shows you the
hottest hip-hop, electronic and reggae music of
today, ranked by our real-time popularity engine.
2. BANDCAMP
Bandcamp.com
@Bandcamp
They say Discover amazing new music and
directly support the artists who make it.
3. MUSIC XRAY
Musicxray.com
@Musicxray
They say Music Xray is a platform where
artists can submit their music directly to
industry professionals. When you submit to an
opportunity, your track goes directly to the
pre-screeners, just a direct link between
artist and industry professional.
4. SOUNDCLOUD
Soundcloud.com
@Soundcloud
The daddy of them all says SoundCloud is
the worlds leading social sound platform,
where anyone can create sounds and share
them everywhere.
5. VIMEO
Vimeo.com
@Vimeo
Vimeo is an important place to host your
showreel and is seen as the site for creatives.
They say We hope this fun and friendly
environment fuels your own creativity and
inspires you to contribute to Vimeo in the
ways that mean the most to you.
Yourlisten.com
@Yourlisten
They say The worlds first social music and
audio platform. Upload music and audio for free
no size and time limits.
7. YOUTUBE
Youtube.com
@YouTube
YouTube has also become the place to go for rare
or new music. And obviously you can use it to
showcase how great you are at producing music
for video, too.
8. YOURWEBSITE.COM/CO.UK/
ORG/ETC
Yes, your website is still a good idea as you
have total control over its content. On it, you
should say: This is my music, this is me, this is
what I have produced and where its appeared.
More importantly, get a showreel together and
make it or your music easy to play.

30 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

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 MT Interview Matt Lange

MT Interview Matt Lange

MATT LANGE
A graduate of Berklees Music Synthesis programme, Matt Lange carries the torch of
innovation through his infectious love of technology and flair for sound design.
MusicTech speaks to the experimental techno producer about his creative
technology workflow and his newfound love of modular systems

34 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

MT170.INT Matt Lange.indd 34 05/04/2017 09:48

 Matt Lange Interview MT

Langes studio is dominated by producer Deadmau5, who released the

both the outboard rack and
modular system
album Ephemera (2015) on his own
mau5trap label. Both this and the
following years Patchwork demonstrate
Langes heavily textured production
aesthetic, based on a love for analytical
programming and an increasingly
modular-based setup.

MusicTech: Tell us about your interest in

electronic music
Matt Lange: I was introduced to Aphex
Twins Richard D. James album in the late
90s. Around the same time, Nine Inch
Nails The Fragile came out and it really
pushed me in the right direction. It
combined orchestrated elements with cool
electronic programming and songwriting.
I pretty much grew up being a metalhead,
so it was a combination of many different
styles I loved. It really pushed me in terms
of electronic music programming,
production and the marriage of acoustic
and synthetic material.

MT: Did you make music at this point?

ML: Yeah, I had this old Sony laptop and a
version of Fruity Loops and Acid Pro, so I
would program these awful or maybe not
so awful at the time beats that I thought
were that style. Then Id bring those into
Acid, record a bunch of guitars and make
my compositions. I hadnt got into synths
yet; it was guitars and beat programming.

MT: What direction were you taking?

ML: When I first started getting into dance
music, a trick that a few people taught me
was to take a track you really like, put it at
the top of your sequencer and emulate the
arrangement. I wouldnt copy the track,
but Id place markers wherever a change
happened, like a hi-hat or a melody, and
that would guide me. It gives you a
roadmap. Even now Ill do it, not so much
in the same way, but I definitely analyse

L
pieces of music that I admire, mostly
A-based producer/DJ Matt Lange sample libraries before striking out on his because I cant turn off the analytical side
was inspired by the aggressive own to create official remixes for The M of my brain [laughs].
industrial programming of early Machine and Usher, while co-producing
Nine Inch Nails and Aphex Glenn Morrissons platinum-selling MT: Why did you take the Berklee course?
Twins brutal contrast of ambient progressive house album, Goodbye in 2013. ML: It was the only place I wanted to go. I
and jungle. Packed had to do college with
off to Bostons
Berklee College by BT didnt have modular synths at my parents, it wasnt
an option. I had this
his parents, Lange
undertook a music- the time but then Richard Devine came dream of becoming a
pro skateboarder, but
production course
and began home over and he had one in his car when I was 17 I tore all
the cartilage in my
recording on an old ankle so that was the
laptop. Introduced to BT by one of his Self-produced releases arrived under end of that. I was playing in a band at the
college mentors, Lange worked as an the pseudonym Altered Tensions alongside time and doing a lot of the production at
engineer on the trance producers Grammy the collaborative project Above & Beyond. home using my laptop setup to record a
nominated album, These Hopeful Then, to his surprise, Lange was bunch of demos. Using a very old version of
Machines. He then began developing handpicked by renowned Canadian Sibelius, Id transcribe all these different

MAGAZINE May 2017 | 35

MT170.INT Matt Lange.indd 35 05/04/2017 09:48

 MT Interview Matt Lange

parts for pretty much everyone to play. Id Well, why not?

bring them to my bandmates and theyd be
like, What the fuck man? Were not going
to do this you just did everything for us!
I thought I was going to take an
engineering course, but once I got there I
realised that when you do that, you dont
really get to write any of your own music.
Youre behind a console the entire time,
which is great, but Im a creative.
Then I found a major called Music
Synthesis, which doesnt exist anymore. It
married a lot of the music production with
writing for picture and sound design and
was much more composition-based. It was
amazing, because you could come out of
that and have the tools to do anything on
the production front these days.

MT: Plus you were recording at home at

the time, too?
ML: When I was at school, youd have to
rent out lab time to use the computer
systems and youd only have two hours at a
time. Everyones wearing headphones and
youre in this room with 20 other people
how is that productive? I was bartending,
so I took the money and bought my own
gear. Suddenly, there were no time
limitations. I didnt really have much of a
social life; Id go to class and then Id be
home working on my music all day long.
I learned how to handle very high-stress
situations in the best way I could for my
age and how to work and interface with the
people at the business end. It was really a
wake-up call.
MT: Tell us about your debut Ephemera
on Deadmau5s mau5trap label?
ML: Id been releasing music with Above &
Beyond on Anjunadeep for five years, and
theyd put out a compilation album of
various tracks of mine. Mau5traps A&R
had heard a techno record Id done and
reached out to my management asking if I
had any contracts. I had all these techno
records just sitting on my hard drive and
sent them six or seven files but didnt hear
anything for six or seven months. Then
they hit me up on Twitter after hearing a
track called Scorched Earth Policy and
within two hours there was already a
record contract. Essentially, it was for a
single and an option for an EP, but I gave
them an album instead, which allowed me
to be more creative.
MT: Its very electronic, but you start out
of the box
ML: Yes, the tracks that are more melodic,
especially the vocal tracks, started on the
Rhodes, but tracks like Inside My Head
started on guitar. The club tracks started
on the modular, and when I started putting
the modular together about three years ago
it really did transform the way I make
techno music.
MT: How did you start in modular?
ML: The first time I really got introduced to
it was at BTs. Brian didnt have one, but
Richard Devine came and stayed with us
for a couple of days and in the back of his
car he had his first Doepfer synth. I
remember, we were all sitting on the living
room floor and he was piecing it all
together. It was so new at the time for all
of us, but ultimately, my friend Anthony
Baldino brought his over and said, just
touch it and youll understand. And he was
right, it was immediate.
MT: Everybody presumed software was
the future, but now hardware is big
ML: Ultimately, modular is just another
tool, but the ideas Ill create out of the
modular are things that I would never
think of in a traditional musical way. And
then theres the tactile approach of being
able to touch knobs, turn them and hear
the physicality of electricity when you do
it, and that is exciting. And of course, you
can do things wrong. You can take an
oscillator signal, plug it into the wrong
input of something else and its not going
to be like a computer that says, No, you
cant do that. You can do it and it might
create a sound that youre never heard
before and in terms of sonic exploration,
thats really crucial. I cant use modular for
everything by any means, but I always
New to modular?
MT: What would you recommend to
those looking to create a modular
synth setup?
ML: For someone getting into modular,
Mutable Instruments Braids is
unbelievable in its versatility, and its
sound quality is unmatched. So much of
Ephemera came out of Braids, from the
chords on Removes Me to the bass
sounds on Youll Remember Me and
Ripples the title of which was a filter
that also came from Mutable
Instruments. For more exciting things, I
recently got a Cwejman VC02RM and a
Cwejman MMF-1F, which sounds great
and has the best resonance of anything I
have here. Thanks to the VC02, I never
need another analogue oscillator this
does everything in that realm better
than anything Ive ever heard. Im a huge
Cwejman fan.
MT: The problem with modular is that,
everything can be lost, right?
ML: When Im in exploratory mode, so to
speak, as soon as I find something I like
the sound of Ill hit record and keep
tweaking. Sometimes, Ill use the
modular in a more directed manner,
where I know I need a certain kind of
sound and want to make it on a modular
because its going to sound more
interesting than doing it traditionally.

36 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

MT170.INT Matt Lange.indd 36 05/04/2017 09:48

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 MT Interview Matt Lange
And the 2010s are
represented in modular
turn to it. And regarding the sound, theres
nothing in software that comes close.
A lot of modules these days are digital,
but theres always something to be said for
a sound coming from outside of the box
and going through a preamp, converters
and audio going through iron transistors.
On top of that, a lot of these module
manufacturers are not big companies; they
38 | May 2017 MAGAZINE
MT170.INT Matt Lange.indd 38
dont have a board of investors and can do
whatever they want. They might only make
a run of 200, but youll get these really
creative modules that you would never see
in the software realm.
MT: So they give you unique options
ML: Each system is different, so you can
build your own Frankenstein synth based
From the 80s to the 00s
in synthesis
on your own needs and wants. For me, Ill
buy something if I know how its going to
behave, or if theres a more experimental
oscillator. Dave Rossum just came out with
a Morpheus Eurorack module that is the
Z-Plane filter from the E-mu Morpheus,
which is finally in a Eurorack format. I
didnt know how that was going to behave
with some of the other things that I have,
but I knew what it did and I love Z-Plane
filter sounds from 90s drum n bass.
MT: When youre using modular gear, is it
true that you treat sounds differently?
ML: Oh yeah, 100 per cent. It sounds great
on its own a lot of the time, but one of my
favourite things to do with them is to run
them through hardware. On the track
Hyperwarp, I ran the bass sound from the
modular through my Fractal Audio Axe-Fx
guitar processor and used it for a lot of
distortion, waveshaping and modulation.
Recently, I got this fuzz pedal called the
Devi Ever Big Distortion Sound Machine.
I was in a music shop and brought in this
old Eurorack modular to trade in and saw
this pedal that had two cats wrestling on
it. I was like, Whoa, I have to plug this in,
and when I looked closer, the knobs said
Ruiner Gain and Ruiner Volume. So I
plugged it in and it was like obliteration, so
I brought it home and now its my favourite
05/04/2017 09:48
 MT Interview Matt Lange
Youd choose this over using
plug-ins any day, wouldnt you?
From A to BT
MT: Tell us how you were called up to
work with BT on his album, These
Hopeful Machines
ML: That came out of Berklee as the
teacher I had during my senior thesis was
also a mentor of Brian Transeaus. After I
graduated, BT was looking for someone to
work for him in the studio hed put
together and my name came up. I flew
down to DC, met with him and a month
later I was driving down with everything
I had in a Ford Focus. Previously to that,
Id released an album myself under the
alias of Altered Tensions, which was very
nave and cute-sounding IDM, emulating
artists like Richard Devine, Telefon Tel
Aviv and elements of Squarepusher and
Aphex Twin. That actually came out
thing. Ill send drum sounds, loops or
programming out of Pro Tools through
it and its a sonic annihilation of fuzz.
For creating new sounds and getting ideas,
its unbelievable.
MT: Whats your approach to using
granular synthesis?
ML: Ill use it in every way; I love it.
40 | May 2017 MAGAZINE
MT170.INT Matt Lange.indd 40
before Id moved down to Brians.
MT: What do you learn from that whole
experience of working with Brian?
ML: Erm, Im trying to figure out the most
political way to say this [laughs]. Right
from the beginning, I got thrown into a
very intensive working environment,
which could be anything from dealing
with major-label managers to executives.
It was all very high level and I was only
21 at the time, so it was very much a sink
or swim situation. It was long hours,
overnighters, and although I lived five
minutes away, some nights I didnt leave
at all. My technical role was as an
engineer, but what came along with the
job was everything but engineering.
Everything from making cloudy textures
to ambient evolving pads its great for
that. For doing really cool time-stretchy
clicky percussion, Ill use Ophelia or
cSound and just feed things into them and
break apart the signal entirely. From there,
you can pitch stuff up and down or make
the grains shorter or further apart. When
you break a sound down to a granular
level, you can reconstruct it to be anything
else. Even if you granulise the hell out of a
piano or a guitar, you get this evolving
textural thing, but you know its familiar
because it still keeps it character and still
sounds beautiful and evocative. I just
love how it can affect traditional sound
and put it in that sphere of the ordinary
and otherworldly.
MT: Sound placement is such an
important component of instrumental
music, could you give us some of your tips
for panning?
ML: Double track. Instead of using a delay
or panning plug-in, record the same thing
twice and pan it left or right. Its the oldest
trick in the book and it sounds better. I
love panning automation, but not a lot of
people do it.
Its also amazing what you can do with
delay by offsetting a channel by five
milliseconds. I dont really like fancy
plug-ins to do that kind of thing; I much
prefer doing it by hand. A lot of times Ill
misalign things on purpose on the grid and
do it visually. If Im looking at claps or
something, I like to visually see how all the
different peaks of the claps are hitting at
different points in time and pan all of them
in different directions.
MT: Tell us more about some of your
synth hardware?
ML: I bought the Juno-106 entirely to make
90s drum and bass sounds. I got it for $200
about 10 years ago and Ill use it
periodically to make a chord or a pad, but
my favourite thing to do with it is just
make bass sounds, even though its a
one-trick pony. I also have an Access Virus
TI, which I dont use very often. Until I got
the modular, almost every kick drum,
snare or pad used to come out of the
Elektron Machinedrum MKII, but these
days its mostly been retired, because the
modular gives me more control.
MT: We noticed you use a Zoom Handy
Recorder, for sampling, we presume?
ML: The last time I used it was to record a
washing machine at someones house,
which became a percussive texture for a
track I was working on.
My newest favourite thing is that I have
all these magnolia leaves outside my
house. Theyre really big, thick leaves and
when you step on them they have the
biggest crunch. So I recorded them at
96kHz, pitched the sound down two
octaves and they sound like the clap
of Godzilla.
The outside world has so many
interesting sounds that we take for
granted every day. If you put your
05/04/2017 09:48

musician ear to them, theyre so much
more interesting than a fucking Saw wave.
MT: What outboard gear are you using for
effects processing?
ML: Oh, the Eventide DSP4000 thats my
favourite reverb box ever. Ive never heard
a reverb that sounds as lush as that. The
first time I used it was at Berklee when we
ran stuff through one of the polyphonic
I only use two VSTs Reaktor for its
granular synthesis and I trigger a lot of
bass and drum sounds with Kontakt
pitch-shifter reverb things on it called
Genesis Worlds and got this giant reverb
orchestral swell. I made a whole track off
that one recording. The other fun piece of
gear in there is the Avalon VT-737, which I
bought from Charlie Cooper of Telefon Tel
Aviv six months before he passed away.
One of my favourite albums ever is Map Of
What Is Effortless and this is what they
used to record a lot of that album. Its a
very special piece of gear to me.
MT170.INT Matt Lange.indd 41
MT: So whats behind your most recent
single, the 10-minute track Unsettled?
ML: As far as the club music I do, I pretty
much just make records that I want to play
out at this point. I needed a track to brand
the tour with, which is basically what
Unsettled started out as. So this was my
version of a larger-than-life techno tune,
but because Im me, I couldnt do that and
had to start putting vocals in and taking
things a bit further [laughs]. Right now,
Im utilising my own label to release the
more experimental music thats inside my
head, because thats really where my heart
lies. The plan is to put out a three-track EP
every quarter, so Im making an album but
will be releasing it in parts. Each EP will
be digital, and at the end of the cycle it will
come out physically on vinyl, too. I polled
my fan base, so now Im accountable for
following it up. MT
Matt Lange Interview MT
Sequencer choices
MT: Whats your choice behind using
Pro Tools as a DAW?
ML: Everything gets edited in Pro Tools,
so its not like the music is being made
out of the box. Once the sounds come in,
everything gets arranged, destroyed and
reconstructed in Pro Tools. So much of
my workflow is audio. I dont use much
MIDI and nothing handles audio as well
or with as much stability as Pro Tools.
Audio Suite is a huge part of my
workflow a lot of the time Im moving
through little clips and affecting things,
whether its taking a snare and reversing
it, throwing a reverb on it, flanging it,
reversing it back again or pitching it up
12 steps, and I cant do that with
anything other than Pro Tools. The
only two VSTs I use are Reaktor for its
granular synths as far as granular
goes, it is the best one and the other,
which doesnt really count because its
not a synth, is Kontakt. I make a lot of
bass sounds on the modular and theyll
get retriggered out of Kontakt. I also use
its orchestral and drum libraries for
things I cant make.
05/04/2017 09:48
 MT Interview Olivier Giacomotto

MT Interview Olivier Giacomotto

OLIVIER GIACOMOTTO Hes a producer who outsold everyone on the

tech-house charts on Beatport, but is now branching
out into the world of film composition and video-game
soundtracks. He also proves, as you can see, that you
dont need all the gear in the world to succeed.
MusicTech welcomes Olivier Giacomotto

Not all successful producers need

masses of gear

42 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

MT170.INT Oliver Giacomotto.indd 42 05/04/2017 10:10


O
livier Giacomotto is a French
producer, born and raised in
the South West of the country,
and now living in Paris. He
bought his first studio kit at 18
years of age and has since branched out
into several areas of music production. He
has become something of an online techno
star and in the last decade, has constantly
been at the top of the Beatport charts with
his own brands of techno, house, electro
and tech-house. He has worked with
artists like John Acquaviva, Umek, and
Popof, and had releases on loads of labels
including Suara, Get Physical, Noir Music,
Definitive Recordings, Toolroom Records,
MT170.INT Oliver Giacomotto.indd 43
and Trapez. More recently, he has moved
from his own releases to producing music
for video games and film soundtracks.
Here, he reveals how this broad range of
outlets can give you a conceptual approach
to music making that becomes a key
advantage in todays music production
climate (and also how a big studio is not
always better)
MusicTech: Hi Olivier, so tell us how you
got into making music
Olivier Giacomotto: I started when I was
eight years old with piano courses and
then taught myself how to play guitar
when I was 14. I played in a few local
bands, and finally bought my first
synthesiser a Roland JV-1080 [and a
great choice Ed] when I was 18 years
old. I had a computer and a pair of cheap
monitors and started to record my own
songs. It took me four years to get a sound
and my first record deal, but I guess hard
work always pays. My passion for music
became my full-time job with all kinds of
projects, from vinyl releases to digital
underground releases, pop and reggae
productions, music for video games,
movie soundtracks
MT: Tell us how you first made it
professionally with music production?
OG: I had my first professional music
experience at Townhouse Studios in
London. I was the assistant to a producer
named Magnus Fiennes (All Saints, Spice
Girls, Tom Jones, Morcheeba, Neneh
Cherry and more). So Ive been trained to
deal and produce all kinds of music, from
the most underground to the most
mainstream genres, but also advertising,
cartoons, and movie soundtracks. That
experience gave me a lot of flexibility and
a kind of conceptual approach for every
music project. Im always aware of who is
going to listen to the music Im currently
working on and try to target those
listeners as much as I can, always keeping
in mind my musical roots (all kinds of
rock, pop, reggae, dub, metal, funk,
electronic bands and artists from the 70s,
80s, 90s) and my own actual style of
electronic music.
MT: Talking of which, you were
Beatports best-selling tech-house artist
in 2015 tell us about your dance music
production methods?
OG: Im internationally known as an
electronic-music producer who makes
people dance, so for me, every dance
track has to be led by rhythm and sub
frequencies. Its the kick drum and bass
mostly, because they always have a bigger
impact on the body than any other
Olivier Giacomotto Interview MT
instruments and/or frequencies: you feel
them more than you hear them, its like
being touched by the invisible. So I always
make sure that kick and bass are louder
than all other instruments, which means
that the VU meter of my output compressor
is always moving and pumping from left to
right with the beat.
MT: Would you say that the kick and the
bass are your sound, then?
OG: That depends on the project genre, but
most of the time, its a deep dark and sexy
tech-house sound made from a MiniMoog,
ARP2600, Roland TB-303 and all the
Roland 606, 707, 808 and 909 beats. As I
said, I always make sure that drums are
in your face, but I also take good care of
having arpeggiators, pads, and lead synths
to bring the right amount of emotion. I
dont use melodies a lot; most of the time
my tracks are on one root note and all
other melodic elements are there to
emphasise the depth and/or the hook of the
track. Im often composing between D and
F because of the great sub frequencies they
generate on big sound systems.
MT: More recently, youve branched out
of dance-music production, though
OG: Most of the time, I work on my own on
the tech-house sound I described above,
but I also produced music like reggae and
pop for other artists which means I also
collaborate a lot with other artists and
instrumentalists. Ive also had a few
tracks featured on video games and lately,
Ive even produced an entire movie
soundtrack for a film called The Red Man.
So being involved on all those kinds of
projects means providing lots of ideas;
selecting sounds and genres; helping
authors with lyrics; making changes and
arrangements during the production
process and working and considering time
and deadlines. I also supervise every audio
recording, use all kinds of sound
engineering and mastering techniques,
and make sure that the quality is the
highest possible from the beginning to the
end of the project.
MT: Thats a lot of input, then. What is
the most important part of your role?
OG: Creativity first, because your brain is
your main instrument ideas and concepts
have more power than anything else.
Then sound engineering, because those
techniques make you sound better than
other producers.
MT: Tell us about how you applied that
philosophy to The Red Man film project?
OG: I work with John Acquaviva we are
long-time friends and weve worked a lot
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 43
05/04/2017 10:10
 MT Interview Olivier Giacomotto
MusicTech advice box
MT: Over the years, what advice have
you picked up from working in the
music industry that you can pass on?
OG: Hard work is essential and working
harder than all the others is the key to
success. So no PlayStation, no sofa, only
studio and creativity!
MT: And from working in the studio?
OG: KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). Less is
more, so when using a synth, I make the
best out of it, I make it unique. A good
song is most of the time three or four
ideas, instruments or elements.
together on many different projects. Our
good friend Dan Diamond who had
already worked with us on a few songs
providing great vocals and lyrics told us
about a movie project he had with another
of his friend, [director] Jimmie Gonzales.
Back then, it was just a trailer made to
raise funds for the production of the movie,
but John had been seduced by the project
and decided to become executive producer.
They also needed music, so obviously, I
was there at the right place at the right
time. Jimmie Gonzales asked me to make
music for the trailer and loved what he
heard, then I was onboard for the whole
soundtrack. That was my first movie. Ive
never produced for image before, so it took
a few months to really
get into that kind of
production process. I
I worked three days on one scene
made a lot of scene
tests and did a lot of
and I was totally exhausted. I even
research on the impact
of frequencies on the
ended up in hospital I guess that
brain in order to
provide the right
soundtrack took it out of me
sound for that project (which is a
psychological-thriller movie with lots of
tension, fear, and dizziness), where the
main character totally loses his mind
during the movie, so every sound had to be
chosen wisely in order to emphasise the
feelings of each scene.
Jimmie wanted something dark,
druggy, and electronic, so I chose to use
the ARP2600 and Minimoog, but with
frequencies, pitch modulations, and filter
LFOs in order to get lost in sound. I
generated lots of them going up and down,
sometimes randomly, lots of effects, lots of
automated reverbs The goal was to
create tension, fear, dizziness, and even
panic. I remembered I worked three days
on one particular scene and was then
completely exhausted, but had to work
consecutive days and nights to meet
deadlines. I actually ended up in hospital
44 | May 2017 MAGAZINE
MT170.INT Oliver Giacomotto.indd 44
with arrhythmia and extreme tachycardia
I guess that soundtrack took it out of me!
THE GEAR
MT: So tell us a little about your studio
it seems small but perfectly formed
OG: Ive been trained on all kinds of
high-end gear, but my studio is just a
MacBook Pro with Logic Pro installed, an
RME Fireface 800 soundcard, a pair of
Event Opals, a small MIDI keyboard, and
a SubPac. I only use plug-ins, like Native
Instruments, Waves, Sonnox, Arturia,
Soundtoys, and so on. As I said, I keep
things simple. I travel a lot, so when ideas
come, I need to have at least my laptop and
my plug-ins to write them, then I make
them perfect in the studio. Acoustic
treatment of the room is also as important
as the monitors.
MT: So what are your favourite
sound-generating studio tools?
OG: Im in love with Native Instruments
Monark. For me, its the best emulation of
the Minimoog ever created such a
versatile instrument with powerful sound,
its unbelievable, I use it in every project.
MT: And outboard plug-ins?
OG: Definitely the whole Soundtoys
collection, because they turn a simple
sound into something unique.
MT: Theres obviously a huge interest in
modular synths at the moment you
havent been tempted?
OG: Native Instruments Reaktor has these
things called Blocks, which include
oscillators, effects, filters, modulators and
sequencers that you patch together to
make a modular ensemble. Im not a
modular geek, nor a sound extremist, but
Ive used this a couple times already, and I
loved it.
MT: What is on your wishlist, gear-wise?
OG: I worked for over 10 years with my
Mackie HR824 monitors, and I just bought
a pair of Event Opal last year. They sound
amazing clear and full. My next toy?
Probably a new soundcard, Im not sure
which one yet, Im quite happy so far but is
there something better than the RME
Fireface 800? Im opened to advice here!
MT: What would you like to see developed
in terms of studio technology?
OG: Its already happened, and its called
SubPac. It is the sonic revolution of the
decade. Its like having a subwoofer
plugged into your body. You dont hear the
sub, you feel the sub, like vibrations on
your chest in a concert hall. Thanks to that
device, I rediscovered music its like
having a brand-new pair of glasses after
years of visual frustration. Tuning kick
and bass is not a blurred exercise anymore,
I finally know how my low end will sound
on a club soundsystem in two seconds.
MT: What have you got coming up?
OG: The future is looking good. My
four-track Postgalactic II EP is out on Noir
Music. I have a couple of collaboration
projects: one with Noir, another one with
Kiko called Cold
Miles, so lots of
remixes and
productions will
come out soon. I also
tour a lot, probably
80 gigs a year. I
finally love what I
produce and what I
playbecause everything makes sense as a
whole synergy the crowd loves it,
promoters want me back, so its all good.
But, Id love to make another soundtrack.
Its such a unique experience MT
Inspiration, inspiration
MT: You compose across a lot of genres
what inspires each?
OG: Inspiration depends on my mood.
I can have a concept idea in the bath,
driving my car or after a gig. It can
be a lead synth first, or just a beat
arrangement, a vocal, there is no rule.
Then a song can be made in a day or in a
month, or in three months its a matter
of satisfaction. Sometimes, ideas come
in two hours sometimes, its like a
childbirth, it can be painful and long!
05/04/2017 10:10
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MT Modular Monthly Oscillators Part 1
Eurorack
Modular Oscillators
The signal chain has to start somewhere in a Eurorack,
and thats almost certainly going to be with an oscillator
but arent they all the same? Dave Gale catches some waves
I
f theres one element in your Eurorack that youd
find it pretty difficult to live without, it would be
oscillators. Thats the bit where the noise starts, and
certainly in the case of East Coast (ie, Moog-like)
systems, its going to mean a device that generates a
mixture of pure and rich waveforms which are ripe for
the next stage of synthesis which is normally the
subtractive filter. But with such a bewildering array of
oscillators on the market, its time to sort out whats
what and pick a few choice models which deserve a
second look. Now, this list is not exhaustive, and
certainly not designed to be a list of lists, as its such
a subjective viewpoint but all Eurorack users will
doubtless have a view, so were going to point out the
modules that are popular, and a few that have some
surprises up their sleeve.
The VCO and the DCO
Basically speaking, oscillators fall into two camps;
Voltage Controlled Oscillators (VCOs) and Digitally
Controlled Oscillators (DCOs). Its no surprise that VCOs
adopt a more analogue design which, in their most
primitive form, use discrete electronics to generate
sounds and timbres. These VCO-style oscillators are
prone to slight variance in pitch, which we generally like,
MT170.TUT MOD.indd 49
Modular Monthly Oscillators Part 1 Technique MT
Part
One
Whats better than one AJH as the fluctuation is somehow more akin to a human
VCO? Three, of course, for
that classic Minimoog sound performance. Digital Oscillators (DCOs), as their name
in a Eurorack. The full implies, often generate the same sort of timbral
MiniMod package offers
three oscillators feeding a waveforms as VCOs, but from a digital circuit or do
Moog-style ladder filter they? Well, we have Roland to thank for a rather grey
area that emerged in the 80s which has infiltrated
Eurorack and beyond. Some Roland synths, notably the
Juno-6, 60 and 106, all made use of what Roland called
There are so many oscillators,
weve picked a few choice models
which deserve a second look
a DCO. At the time, this seemed like a good idea,
because what the company had engineered was a VCO
circuit which offered much greater tuning stability, with
the use of silicon chips. This meant it wasnt a VCO in
the strictest sense, but it was a VCO under digital
control. Confused? Well, yes, because for some years
now, we have had other pure digital synthesisers that
can offer basic-to-extraordinarily complex waveforms.
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 49
03/04/2017 11:22
 MT Technique Modular Monthly Oscillators Part 1

To be blunt, any synthesist would be daft to ignore what

contemporary DCOs can offer, either in their original 80s
form or latter-day incarnation, as theyve taken the
original concept and moved it on considerably.

A Moog-shaped pool
AJH Synth mastermind, Allan Hall, has something of a
thing for the original Moog designs and concepts. Just
about all of his current product line has some sort of
association with the Moog classics of yesteryear, and
sure enough, the Vintage Transistor Core VCO has
become something of a classic in Eurorack circles for
good reason. Just one of these sounds pretty huge, but
bring two or three into play and youre in the Eurorack
equivalent of Minimoog heaven. They sound
outstanding, with all that subtle variance in tone that
we all love, but with plenty of modern-day stability to
boot. Just like the original Moog design from the Mini,
you can also place the VCO in Lo mode, so it doubles as
an LFO. But for my money, I wouldnt waste it on such a
commonplace task, not with a sound like that! At the
present time, the only Eurorack module that Moog
makes is the fully formed voice that is the Mother-32,
so with a lack of any singular oscillator module from the
Moog mothership, the AJH VCO is difficult to ignore, as
Studio Electronics it fills a very large Moog-shaped gap in the market.
Oscillation, out in the
wild, is feature packed Next up is Studio Electronics, with an oscillator
and full of punch,
thanks in no small
which I feel is rather underrated, even ignored by some.
part to the Oscillation is an absolute powerhouse of a VCO module,
sub oscillator
with its roots firmly based in the traditions of ARP and

50 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

MT170.TUT MOD.indd 50 03/04/2017 11:22


Oberheim, with a smattering of Moog Model D thrown
in for good measure. Apart from the usual clutch of
subtractive-style waveforms, with individual outputs,
the Oscillation offers a Wave Mix facility, allowing a sum
of waves to be created. As if this werent enough, there
is also a dedicated Square-based sub oscillator built in,
with its own attenuation. Put this into the mix and it will
sound simply enormous! The Oscillation is exceptionally
Braids mimics vowel sounds
and human vocalisation its
stable, reliable and sounds great
punchy, with a bottom end that will make your trousers
shake, along with a crisp and bright top end. It comes
highly recommended by us.
Synthesis Technology offers an emerging line of
Eurorack products, which offer a few options for the
start of your signal chain. But one of its more interesting
VCO-based products is the E340 Cloud Generator.
MT170.TUT MOD.indd 51
Modular Monthly Oscillators Part 1 Technique MT
Above: Taking the Super Saw
into a multiple realm, the
Synthesis Technology E340
Cloud Generator detunes nicely
Left: Braids is packed full of
basic waves, complex waves,
every kinda wave and some
drum sounds, too. You name it,
it probably has it
CV inputs, but it can also offer modulation of one
The Doepfer effect
We couldnt talk about a roundup of oscillators without mentioning
the more modest options available from the man who started it all,
Dieter Doepfer. The A-110 Standard VCO and A-111 High End VCO
both offer tremendous value for money. People can be a little bit
snobby about these oscillators, which I have never understood
The fact is, they are really well made, decent-quality products that
have a very sensible price tag. They would be at home in any system,
but theyre particularly ideal for people who are dipping their toe in
the water, as they are cheap and will hold their value secondhand if
you decide to sell them on. Some people report tracking and pitch
CV problems, so theyre better deployed in a system where the
oscillators wont be asked to swing from trees and plumb the
depths in a single pattern. Partner them with a good, stable
sequencer and they should deliver.
Although this VCO only offers Saw and Sine outputs, its
what it does with them that counts, and that is largely a
nod to the Roland JP-8000 and the emergence of the
Super Saw. The Cloud Generators manifesto is to take a
Saw wave and then multiply it, by two, four or eight.
Once in play, these Saws can be heavily detuned and
randomised, with a little help from external sources.
Essentially, the Cloud Generator can sound like multiple
oscillators, but without the need to buy multiple
modules and get them patched in. Its very bright and
broad in tone and colour.
If theres one company with something of a
reputation for pushing the boundaries, its Mutable
Instruments, which offers a DCO-based module called
Braids. Its a modern take on a DCO, being entirely
digital, but also possesses analogue sensibilities. Its a
is a very capable oscillator and offers a multitude of
tonal sources from a single unit. Starting with the
immensely wonderful CS-80 style Sawtooth, the Braids
offers all the usual subtractive favourites before moving
on to offer plenty of digital content, with a large amount
of control from within. Frequency Modulation (FM)
synthesis is also onboard, along with one of my
favourites, vocal synthesis which is where Braids
mimics human vocalisation and vowel sounds in all its
various forms. Its a great-sounding and very solid and
reliable module.
Erica Synths, from Latvia, offers a great range
of Eurorack options, across a number of series
generations. One of its classics is the Varishape VCO,
now regrettably out of production, awaiting a V3 update,
so now could be a great time to scoop up a V2 bargain!
Apart from offering all the usual benefits of a standard
VCO, the Varishape also offers waveshaping onboard,
and a sub oscillator, so can sound enormous, weird and
wonderful in equal amounts.
And finally for now the Make Noise DPO is a
dual VCO in a single module, allowing for all sorts of
interaction between the two oscillators. It can be
considered as two oscillators, both with their own pitch
oscillator to another, in the FM and LFO sense, and
offers syncing, too. Its adaptable and flexible, and
above all sounds great, but it is also at the upper end of
the market, in terms of price. As with much of the Make
Noise kit, it holds its price, so even secondhand, you can
expect to pay well in excess of 300. Yet you are getting
two oscillators, so take that into consideration.
Next month: In part two of our Oscillator roundup, well
focus on the digital end of the spectrum, and look at the
versatility that comes with a digital tonal source MT
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 51
05/04/2017 11:06
 MT Technique Using Ableton Link

Ableton Live Workshop On the disc

Using Ableton Link

Accompanying
project file included
on the DVD

to synchronise
your computers
and iOS devices
Ableton Link is the smoothest and easiest possible way to get
your iOS music apps and Ableton Live talking to each other.
Martin Delaney shows how its done and its brilliantly simple

A
fter years of forcing us to be locked away at
home, the world of music tech is finally getting
more social. These days, were more likely to
take our precious music gear out of the house/
studio, and meet with our fellow musicians;
the ability to create music with our phones and tablets
only adds to this. However, one issue that arises when
electronic-music people get together is synchronisation
getting all of the associated gadgets to play in time
together. Traditionally, weve had methods for dealing with
this, such as ReWire and MIDI Sync, but on days where we
dont want to carry too many interfaces and cables with us,
but we still want to sync tightly, we need a clean solution,
and thats where Ableton Link comes in. This is a method of
synchronisation thats built into Ableton Live 9, and works
over a Wi-Fi network or an ethernet cable. Outside the
computer (and Link is cross-platform), Link is also
available for iOS and Android developers (DAW developers
too, its already made it to Reason and Serato DJ), so
suddenly we can include iPhones and iPads into our
setups, in a reasonably seamless fashion. The setup
doesnt even have to include Live, or any computer at all:
Link works perfectly well between iOS devices.
There are many Link-enabled music apps available,
although I have two favourites: the first being TweakyBeat,
a fantastic bleepy beat-making app that never fails to
make great sounds, and has the advantage of being free; if
you havent got that already, get it now! To configure
TweakyBeat for Link, tap the little i at the bottom right of
the screen, then Link and MIDI at the top on the next page
that appears, then tap the red words Ableton Link. You
then see the Ableton Link page, where you can turn Link
itself on and off, and choose to receive in-app notifications
when other apps join or leave the session.
My other favourite is Korgs Gadget, which is the closest
thing to Live on iOS if you see Live as a programming/
MIDI/synth environment, with scenes for launching
different sections. Gadget is a pay app, with in-app
purchases to add extra instruments. It has great synths,
drum machines, and samplers. It also has the ability to
export songs as either MIDI files, or more relevantly, as
Ableton Live projects. Very cool (Novations Blocs Wave app
can also do this). The only shortcoming as such is that it
understandably has to flatten all of your programmed
MIDI parts into audio clips and scenes
to ensure Live can

LINKED IN
Link is all around us. In the walkthrough steps here, Im talking about Live, of course,
which Im running on macOS Sierra, then about iOS devices and apps. Make no
mistake, though, Link is cross-platform, just like Live itself, so itll work on Windows,
and between Mac and Windows machines. There are currently a handful of Link
apps for Android, but Im sure that number will increase; Ive also seen people
experimenting with Link on the Raspberry Pi platform. And failing all else, thanks to
good old MIDI, any hardware or software that understands MIDI can also be included.

52 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

MTF46.TUT live2.indd 52 03/04/2017 11:34


MT Step-by-Step Sync with Link
To experience Ableton Link, youll need at least one Mac or PC
01 running Ableton Live 9.6 or above, a Wi-Fi network, and at least
one iOS device, with a Link-compatible music app.
Lets begin by syncing two computers running Live. Connect both
03 to the same Wi-Fi network. Open Live on each, go to Preferences/
Link MIDI, and enable Show Link Toggle. Close Preferences.
Youll also see a scrolling progress bar, under the arrangement
05 position display. Start Live on one computer, and set the tempo.
Start the other one, and itll begin playing at the same tempo.
open them properly. Thats good enough for now, though.
And of course, back to the point, Gadget does Link as well.
Setting it up is quite similar to TweakyBeat tap on the
gear icon at the top right of the main Gadget page to see
the Settings menu. Tap to enable Ableton Link. Thatll open
up the Ableton Link menu, where you turn Link on or off,
and once again can opt to receive in-app notifications
regarding which apps are joining or leaving the session.
MTF46.TUT live2.indd 53
Using Ableton Link Technique MT
Link-enabled apps include Korgs Gadget (the king of iOS music
02 apps), TweakyBeat (free), and Moogs Model 15, to name but a
few. Theres a list of Link-enabled apps on the Ableton website.
Youll now have a Link switch in Lives Control Bar, so you can
04 enable Link more easily. Turn it on now, on both computers.
A numeral will appear to show how many devices are present.
Theyre synced! You have to start and stop each independently,
06 it doesnt include song position or anything like that. Theres no
sync master or slave, so either computer can exit the session any time.
Using Link doesnt mean you cant sync to external
equipment with MIDI at the same time that would be
kind of silly. As we all know, Live is a fantastic central hub
for all kinds of music setups; anything thats synced via
MIDI to Live will follow along if youre changing tempo via
Link. Itll also work the other way round. If Live is receiving
MIDI clock from a drum machine, for example, telling it to
run at a certain number of beats per minute, then any Link
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 53
03/04/2017 11:34
 MT Technique Using Ableton Link
MT Step-by-Step Sync with Link (contd)
Its the same process with iOS. Any Link-enabled music app will
07 have a switch somewhere in its settings or preferences, where
you can turn Link on. After that, youll see the progress bar again.
Its also worth remembering that you can Link many iOS apps
09 on the same device, if you need to, and from what Ive seen so
far, theres no practical limit to how many can be running at once.
If youre using computers rather than iOS devices, and you dont
11
trust Wi-Fi, you can connect them via an ethernet cable and Link
should run happily over that. I havent tried this myself yet, though.
apps connected to Live will also follow that tempo. As
weve said, Link handles sync only it keeps everything
playing on the beat at the same tempo. Its very simple and
accurate, which is why we like it. However, if you want more
detailed control than that, youll have to look elsewhere.
To sync two music applications running on one
computer, your best bet is to use ReWire. This is accurate in
54 | May 2017 MAGAZINE
MTF46.TUT live2.indd 54
Youll see the display show the updated number of recognised
08 devices. You can sync iOS devices with Live, or multiple iOS
devices. Live doesnt have to be present to sync iOS devices.
Link is very, very good for those types of casual jams where any
10 kind of setup time is going to seem like overkill and you just want
to experiment or have a little social play.
Tempo changes? No problem. Tap in a new tempo, or type in the
12 numbers, or send it from MIDI, and everything thats linked will
follow along smoothly. Plus, tempo changes can come from any device.
timing terms, but also provides start/stop and song-
location info, so when you skip across your timeline,
both programs stay tight. It also provides quite deep MIDI
communication, so you can send MIDI notes and control
messages from one application to the other. Equally with
audio, ReWire will route audio between DAWs. For example,
you could slave Live to Logic Pro X, and route the stereo mix
03/04/2017 11:34
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 MT Technique Using Ableton Link
MT Step-by-Step Sync with Link (contd)
Of course, youd need something beefier to properly hear your
13 devices in a gig situation, but its really cool just to have a bunch
of iOS devices on the table and use their built-in speakers.
If your regular sound card has a standalone mode, which isnt
15 so unusual, you could use that give it some mains power, and
youre off. The Keith McMillen K-Mix is fantastic for tabletop jams.
If you want to charge an iPhone 7 and get audio output
17 simultaneously, youll need to purchase a separate lightning
adaptor like this one from Belkin, to enable both at the same time.
or even individual tracks out from Live to be processed
collectively or individually inside Logic. It does create a very
powerful setup. ReWire doesnt work between separate
computers: to do that, youll need a MIDI connection. This
can be through MIDI cables between interfaces, or over a
Wi-Fi network. With a bit of trial and error, this setup can
work very well. Macs OS supports network MIDI natively,
56 | May 2017 MAGAZINE
MTF46.TUT live2.indd 56
If you do need something more controllable in audio terms, get a
14 little mixer and some speakers. It doesnt have to be expensive.
Some small mixers are battery powered, too, for more mobility.
Maybe this is where we should mention the dreaded iPhone 7
16 and 7 Plus, which dont have an audio output, unless you use the
lightning-to-audio adaptor, which at least is included in the box.
MIDI hardware can play with Link as well just configure as
18 usual with your MIDI interface and Lives Preferences, and any
MIDI hardware thats synced to Live will follow along, or vice versa.
and includes the ability to access a MIDI controller such as
a keyboard, on any connected computer.
Link is great fun for the casual user its a pick-up-and-
play, game-like way to sync with other device musicians, as
well as being another useful tool for more serious setups as
well. If youve got an up-to-date version of Live, and an iOS
device, grab a Link-friendly app and take it for a spin. MT
03/04/2017 11:34
 MT Technique Creative use of Logics effects

Logic Pro X MusicTech Workshop Level Beginner

Creative use of
Logics effects
Welcome to a huge MusicTech Logic tutorial and its time to get creative. Logic comes
packed with a lot of effects and were going to show you how to use them away from the
norm, to come up with some neat sounds that you might not otherwise have access to

W
e all know that Logic comes packed to the well show you how to combine the two for more outlandish
rafters with plenty of effect plug-ins. You get results. We can, for example make electronic sounds sound
reverbs, delays, modulations, dynamics, EQs, electric (and vice versa); take ordinary piano sounds and turn
filters and so many more. In fact, its fair to them into rich, evocative soundtrack piano sounds; produce
say that Logic has pretty much every effect
you could possibly require for standard recording, mixing
and mastering.
However, the purpose of this tutorial is not to show you
This time around, were going
how to use them in a standard fashion weve covered that
in tutorials on mixing and recording in the past. This time
to look at these effects and
around, were going to look at these effects and what they
can do for you on a more creative level. Were going to
what they can do for you on a
consider them more as instruments, and focus on how
they can change a source sound beyond recognition or the
more creative level
complete feel of a piece. Essentially, were going to look at
Logics ordinary effects and see how they can
make your sound extraordinary, unusual or just
downright different were going to get
creative with Logics plug-ins!

Background
What were hoping, then, is that well be taking
you beyond the normal, helping you move your
sound beyond that which Logic supplies. You get
vast quantities of sounds as well as effects but

TOO MANY EFFECTS?

Were of the opinion that having too many options can get
in the way of creativity having a hard drive full of synths
and instruments can simply offer too many options. We
try to house-keep and often end up having a clear out of
instruments we dont use that often, or end up making a
Logic Template only loaded with our favourite ones. The
same argument goes for effects you can have too many
so in this tutorial, were only really focusing on a few of
Logics key effects so you can learn about how creative
and effective just a couple of good plug-ins can be. Again,
if you like the ones weve focused on, these can also be
loaded up in any Template. For more on setting up Logic
Templates, check out www.musictech.net

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MT Step-by-Step 1. Creating dirty electronics
Starting from scratch, press Shift>Cmnd>N to start a new project.
01 Youll be faced with the screen shown. Select Software
Instrument to load a blank project up.
We need to trigger the sound and record some notes. Weve
03 simply played the same note in a loop with a fairly rhythmic effect
as shown. Youll see why later. At the moment it sounds quite acidy.
Already your electronic synth sound has become more electric
05 using distortion, just like dance artists have done since the
early 90s. It would be quite easy to go into Logics Pedalboard effects
but they can be a little hard to predict
moving and deep basses and more. Apple provides some
great ingredients but, armed with a little knowledge, you can
take these and make them into something incredible.
Well start off on quite a basic level and move up a gear
but theres nothing here beyond beginner level. Thats not to
say its for beginners (although we do say that above!) but you
dont need a degree in sound engineering to get the best from
MTF45.TUT Using effects creatively.indd 59
Creative use of Logics effects Technique MT
Were starting off with something very electronic, so what better
02 to open first than the classic old Logic ES1 synth? Put it on your
instrument track. Select a bass preset like Glide Surfer.
That soon changes when we add one of Logics plethora of
04 Distortion plug-ins. Were using the default preset, but weve
nudged the Drive and Output values up as shown.
Instead, well go a few steps further with Amp Designer first, as
06 you can get some great and dramatic results. Load it up with
preset Large Blackface Clean. Sounds rocking now, right?
this far from it. Anyone can follow a few simple rules to get
some amazing results.
1. Creating dirty electronics
One of the most memorable bands recently interviewed in
MusicTech was Apothek who for their debut album wanted to
make acoustic sounds sound electronic and electronic sound
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 59
03/04/2017 11:23
 MT Technique Creative use of Logics effects
acoustic simply by utilising lots of processing. Its also a
philosophy that was adopted by the dance bands of the 90s,
who took synth sounds and processed them with guitar
pedals. Effectively, they took something fairly cheap sounding
(those early synths were cheap back then!) but beefed them
up with traditional gear. We love the philosophy and its
something that you can hear all over todays more brash
dance genres so well try to bring elements of that in here.
Only we wont be using hardware, well be using Logic.
MT Step-by-Step 1. Creating dirty electronics (and back again)
Now load up the Phase Distortion plug-in as shown. One of the
07 beauties of this plug-in is that adjusting its cutoff frequency
results in some very electric results right across the range
Were always surprised at just how professional a good reverb
09 makes things sound and you should always consider one in any
effects chain. Here, were adding a final touch of lift with PlatinumVerb.
Now select a fairly basic acoustic-type sound. It could be a bass
11 guitar or low acoustic. Weve chosen a Classic Rock organ sound
and one with little complexity, as that is the point!
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MTF45.TUT Using effects creatively.indd 60
Well start on a very basic level, though, and make
electronic sounds that sound electric simply by bringing in
guitar-like effects but the combination is important and
there are one or two elements that can add a surprising edge
to make you sound even, well, edgier.
One of the key effects here is an amp simulator. You get
loads to choose from in Logic and its a key feature. Weve also
applied a little reverb at the end of the process and are firm
believers that you can never have too much of it!
and we can replicate this with the Modulation Delay plug-in. Its
08 a more automated effect, as the Slow Flanger preset moves the
cutoff frequency around for you, rather than manually.
Now its time to go back the other way: starting with a fairly
10 acoustic sound and making it electronic. Firstly, we need to
repeat the track that you used up until now. Use Cmnd>D here
So we took around four plug-ins to turn an electronic sound into
12 an electric, but just one reverses the process: the AutoFilter.
Apply the Frequency Monster preset onto your sound and its a synth!
03/04/2017 11:23

1b. And back again
Weve tagged a bonus tutorial onto the end of this which
demonstrates how easy it is to take an acoustic sound and
turn it into an electronic sound. Whereas the other way, it took
at least four plug-ins to achieve the effect, this time around
its just one but what an effect
2. The soundtrack piano
A treated piano sound is de rigueur for film soundtracks these
MT Step-by-Step 2. The soundtrack piano
First, choose your piano. Logic comes with a whole selection, but
01 the idea here is to show how we can pimp up a pretty basic piano
sound and turn it into a soundtrack piano. Weve gone for the Yamaha
As we said opposite, you cant go wrong with a bit of reverb and
03 this is a key effect to a great soundtrack piano. Weve gone for
Logics old standard, the PlatinumVerb
The Pre-delay gives a shift in sound, but dont go too high here, or
05 else youll get too many note triggers. Weve also gone for a room
shape of 6, to add some nice body.
MTF45.TUT Using effects creatively.indd 61
Creative use of Logics effects Technique MT
days, possibly something to do with a certain Thomas
Newman and the 90s film standards he scored, American
Beauty and The Shawshank Redemption. Were not going to
attempt to recreate those sounds they have become a little
over copied (its actually a combination of treated acoustic
strings and piano, if youre interested). Nevertheless, a great
piano sound is still the key sound in many scores today, so
were going to tell you how to transform a relatively standard
Logic preset piano sound into something more otherworldly.
Part of the (American) beauty (sorry) of some piano soundtracks
02 is the chordal progressions that take place, so to demonstrate
this weve gone for a loop of two simple chords, as shown.
But the key here is not to drench the piano sound in reverb. As
04 good as that sounds, youll soon run into trouble. Here, weve
experimented more with the Pre-delay value, choosing 30ms.
Now weve gone for some delay again, dont go too bonkers.
06 Weve gone with a preset this time, as 1/4 Note Dotted offers a
lovely filmic vibe; you may want to pull the Output Mix back to 15%.
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 MT Technique Creative use of Logics effects
MT Step-by-Step 2. The soundtrack piano (contd)
So far, so restrained but were also encouraging a creative use
07 of effects and that can mean being a little more heavy-handed.
Dial up 1/4 Note Triplet to see what we mean!
By this time, you could be finding the effects are running away
09 with you a little, so make sure you pull them back a little or add an
Exciter effect, as shown. This adds some punch to the original sound.
Finally, with the piano, weve pushed things a bit too far as we are
11 using effects creatively so we can! Add another reverb, this time
the EnVerb remember, this is just an option.
We start with a Yamaha piano sound and then add reverb,
delay and a little Exciter. The key with all of these effects is
not to go too crazy and over the top. Indeed, that is a rule
with using most effects in most situations, especially mixing
music. Having said that, when you use effects more
creatively as we are here there is a good argument to say
that you can be a little more heavy-handed, and with that in
mind, we show you a couple of Logic effects that will
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MTF45.TUT Using effects creatively.indd 62
It sounds a little too domineering at first but still quite
08 attractive as a piano sound but you can easily rein it in by
adjusting the groove values, as shown.
Feel free to experiment with the Frequency position of the
10 Exciter in the effects chain but we found it best to be at the
start and with a Frequency value of 100Hz.
It adds a shimmer to the sound that gives it a completely new
12 character and is way away from what you started with. We found
the Aggressive Tail preset added a certain emotive presence.
certainly give you a great sound, if something a little too
domineering in a mix.
First up, we add some more impact with the Exciter to
give you more character in your original sound; then we go a
little over the top with Stereo Delay and then finally an
optional extra second reverb (EnVerb). As we say, were
showing you how to use effects almost as instruments here,
so the results can occasionally go over the top. We certainly
03/04/2017 11:24

MT Step-by-Step 3. Dark and moving basses
Now were turning our attention back to bass sounds and going to
01 explain how you can very quickly get dark and dirty in Logic. Load
up a similar sound to the one we started with in the very first tutorial.
Load up the Distortion plug-in and set the Drive to 28dB. Youll
03 notice that the sound is already pretty big and has moved well
away from its polite beginnings.
Now experiment with the Filter frequency dial (top right) and
05 decide how you want your bass to sound. Using the Glide Surfer
preset from Logic ES1; we settled on around 38% for the Filter.
wouldnt recommend using these kinds of doses when
recording, mixing or mastering your music!
3. Dark and moving basses
In the next tutorial, were going to introduce some wobble and
darkness to your basslines. If you like, you can use the same
bass sound we started with a few pages back in the first
tutorial. Well fatten it up with some distortion and add some
MTF45.TUT Using effects creatively.indd 63
Creative use of Logics effects Technique MT
Youll need a bassline looping around to get the best from this,
02 so feel free to use the same one from the Dirty Electronics
tutorial, as well start this one with similar effects.
Now well get some movement going, so load the AutoFilter
04 plug-in into the next slot. These two plug-ins work very well with
each other. Set the Rate value on the AutoFilter to 1/2 for now.
Now introduce some wobble to your sound by increasing the
06 Cutoff Modulation slider to around 40%. Instant dirty bass
wobble, that should be in sync with your tempo.
wobble with an AutoFilter. This gives you the kind of bass
effect used in dubstep a few years back, but its also used in a
variety of other current dance music genres.
The AutoFilter is a great, fun plug-in to experiment with
and you can really get a lot of varied movement going, but
keep it all in line with the tempo of whatever youre working
on. The Rate dial is your friend here and you can lock the
movement into time and beats and bars. You can therefore
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 MT Technique Creative use of Logics effects
have this modulating wobble effect firing rapidly once per
bar, or over up to 32 bars if you like.
There is some great fun to be had with some of the other
controls on AutoFilter and you can really turn what was a
fairly dull bass into a moving, evolving analogue-type sound.
With the Filter, Resonance and Filter type options that
are available, we show you how you might also end up with
screaming lead sounds, too something thats also possible
from the Distortion plug-in, just demonstrating how useful
MT Step-by-Step 3. Dark and moving basses (contd)
The Rate dial, bottom left, is your friend so do experiment with
07 it for some great effects. All were doing is messing with audio
effects, but it sounds like a creative instrument in its own right.
But if you want it to really scream drop the Filter amount and set
09 the Resonance to max. It makes what was a digital plain bass
sound unpredictable and analogue.
Just time to experiment with the Filter type. Select the BP (band
11 pass) option and you effectively turn your screaming bassline into
a screaming lead
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MTF45.TUT Using effects creatively.indd 64
and versatile these two plug-ins are when it comes to
adding a dash of sonic creativity to your tracks.
We hope that this tutorial has given you a flavour of some
of the more extreme and creative options that you can
achieve using Logics suite of built-in plug-in effects and also
shown you that using them can be as fun and as versatile
as using any third-party plug-in instrument. For more Logic
tips and tricks, check out our other tutorials in this issue and
online at www.musictech.net. MT
Return to that Frequency dial we set at 38% and move it right up.
08 The sound moves away from being a dirty bassline to something
more akin to a screaming 303 for acid house.
Time to rein it in a little, just for the moment. Push the Frequency
10 back up to 38% and the Resonance down to 18%. Take the Rate
dial down to 1/1.
Similarly, go back to the Distortion plug-in and dial up the Tone
12 and Drive values to 33k and 36dB, just demonstrating how both
of these plug-ins can so radically alter your sound and mood.
03/04/2017 11:24
 Everything
you could hope
for in a limiter
Computer Music (January 2011)

A brickwall limiter is an essential tool for every mastering or

mixing engineer. Are you looking for a professional, feature-packed
limiter that is loud and transparent at the same time? Then
FabFilter Pro-L is your weapon of choice!

www.fabfilter.com
 MT Reviews Loopmasters Loopcloud

MT Lead Review
Hardware Software Mobile tech Accessories

Choice

9/10
9
9/10
LOOPMASTERS
Loopcloud
Find managing your sample
collection a chore? Andy Jones tests a new
plug-in that could revolutionise the whole process

I
Details ve witnessed the future of sample The idea behind it came about a year Loopmasters to sell its samples to you.
Kit Loopcloud management, and its going to ago, when the developers realised that Its not that (just yet, although it
Manufacturer
change the way we all produce good sample management is not certainly has potential to be that), but
Loopmasters
Price Free! music. Okay, that statement is an exactly a defined science no one more a way of storing and managing
Contact obvious ploy to draw you into this seems to have got it completely right. what you already own.
via website
Web www.
feature (and its not the first time Ive Looking for samples can still take ages Loopmasters even describe it as a
loopmasters.com used such methods), as sample and getting what you want into your gift to their loyal customers it is free,
management is not, on the face of it, DAW can be rather hit and miss youre by the way as it presents what they
the sexiest of subjects. But the often likely to get something completely have bought back to them but in a
Loopcloud plug-in is a great way of different from what you set out to find much better and clearer way, and with a
dealing with those GBs (or even TBs) of
samples the modern producer has on
their computer. More importantly, it also
makes auditioning samples and loading
Its not a way of selling more
Key Features
Sample
them into your DAWs a more inspiring
process. Yes, sample management
samples not yet more a way
of managing what you own
management
plug-in might not seem to be the most pressing
Search by of your studio issues but when the
genre type, whole process can lead to frustration
label, format,
instrument rather than inspiration, maybe you and be happy with the results because whole bunch of added extras and future
and key should reconsider how you do it, and it sounds okay (but a nagging voice in possibilities into the bargain.
Free 1GB of Loopcloud will make you do just that your head will always say but it could Download the software and install it
content when
you join have sounded so much better). and you will be faced with a list of
Runs as a plug-in All going cloudy So Loopcloud promises to take the Loopmasters content that you have
in your DAW to Before we get stuck in, let me take you strain out of all of that, adds regular already bought. Loopcloud works this
load audio
back to NAMM in January. No not free sample content and interfaces out from your Loopmasters login
Real-time
stretch and pitch Vietnam, Anaheim NAMM, where all the with your DAW as a plug-in, so you can details. If youre not a Loopmasters
Other features gear announcements are made every audition samples on it directly. sample owner, then you might already
include tagging, year. Several meetings we had made be thinking about turning the page right
upload content
coming soon promises of future cloud-based Your collection in the cloud now but relax, because future versions
services, but first out of the blocks of Ill admit that I expected, rather will allow uploading of other sample
those is Loopmasters Loopcloud. cynically, for Loopcloud to be a way for content this could be a future way of

66 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

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How to get Loopcloud working with your DAW.
1 Install as a plug-in, enjoy the instructions!
In order to get Loopcloud connected to your DAW
4 simply press the Connect icon.
Its so much better than
randomly opening old folders
to see what evils they contain
sample management for all of us.
But lets not get ahead of ourselves,
as there are a lot of possible futures for
Loopcloud which well come onto. The
main selling points at present are that
existing Loopmasters can use a free
tool to manage samples in some very
clear ways.
Its a plug-in
So to make it clear Loopcloud is a
plug-in and you will use it as such to get
the best from it. Running standalone,
you can use it to browse your samples
in the cloud, to choose by title, by genre,
sample type, tags and more. Its very
colourful, a little garish on occasion
(although there are five colour versions
to choose), but usually with good
reason. The colours make it very easy to
identify the genres, labels, formats and
content types of your samples. Click on
the options Loops, Breakbeat and
WAV, for example, and very quickly you
will be presented with all of the
MT170.REV Loopcloud.indd 67
Select Loopcloud as a plug-in from your plug-ins
2 folder and install on a channel.
Usually, Loopcloud automatically time stretches if
5 your DAW is synced properly.
Breakbeat Loop samples in your
collection in WAV format. You can home
in and drill down further, but you get the
picture. In most cases, this way of
clicking and homing in makes finding
samples a breeze and much quicker
than randomly opening folders that
have been festering on your hard drive
for years to see what evils they contain.
But heres the even better bit
The real highlight of Loopcloud at
present, though, is when you use it as
a front end with your DAW. Select a
channel in Live, for example, load up the
Loopcloud plug-in and a pair of meters
appears on your screen. Now you can
play tunes in Live and audition samples
from Loopcloud via the plug-in, which
automatically time-stretches them to
fit (or you can choose to play different
patterns of hits ). It works best on beat
samples and yes, I know that Live does
this as you audition samples normally,
but Loopcloud simply makes finding
Loopmasters Loopcloud Reviews MT
The Loopcloud meters show the audio is working
3 through your DAW now.
Loopcloud needs decent internet to work best
6 we only had glitches when ours went bad
them so much easier in the first place
and I can see this replacing the way I
load in audio into my DAWs.
During my tests, I was playing old
ideas and matching them with new
samples that I hadnt done before. In
that sense, Loopcloud can be an
inspirational tool, simply because it
helps you quickly match audio with
what you are working on. When you find
a sample you want to use, you then get
it into your DAW by either downloading
it to a folder you can specify or simply
dragging it into a clip or arrangement.
At this point you may have
some questions
I know, so did I. There are some points
that need addressing. The first is that
you appear to download samples you
may already have on your hard drive.
Well, the idea with Loopcloud, and
indeed any cloud service, is that you
dont need to store samples on your
hard drive, they are up there, wherever
up there is, so youre only downloading
the samples into the song you are
working on, which seems like a
reasonable solution.
The main question, I guess, is what
are Loopmasters gaining from this? Its
a free plug-in and service; indeed, they
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 67
05/04/2017 10:58
 MT Reviews Loopmasters Loopcloud

Loopcloud overview
YOUR COLLECTION SEARCHING MORE OPTIONS
1 Your sample collection resides here in alphabetical
2 You can search for samples by Content Type,
3 These icons at the top right are for randomising
order. With none of the search icons pressed, this is Format, Genres, Instruments or Label. As you click on your search, adding favourites and for Preferences
everything you own and its all on the cloud. more, you home in on your sound. (where you can select your download folder).

3
2

1 6

THE BEST BIT
4 Connect to your DAW to use Loopcloud properly, as
a great front end to your DAW for loading in samples.
Youll need to select it within your DAW as a plug-in first.
4
TIME-STRETCHING
5 As you audition samples, they play in tempo with
your track, just as you would auditioning in something
like Ableton Live. It makes for inspiring auditioning.
THE ALL-IMPORTANT TAGS
6 These are colour coded the same as above for
searching, but you get more information and the tags
carry on offscreen, as you can go into so much detail.

are paying for the storage and
downloads, so what are they thinking?!
Well, Ive hinted at the future already
and youll notice Ive used the phrase at
present twice in this review, because
there are plans for Loopcloud that
could see it become an even more
important part of our music making.
The future is
So its important to realise that this is
very much v1 of Loopcloud. The plans
are that the next version will enable you
The version after which has been If you use it properly, as a front-end
promised is where things get really audio auditioning area for your DAW, its
interesting includes the possibility to a no-brainer, too, as in all likelihood, it
upload samples by other creators and will speed up the process. Its early
those not tagged by Loopmasters. This days, though, so keep an open mind.
means everything audio can enter the The future for the plug-in and cloud
Loopcloud, although tagging will be service could be very exciting and may
needed not so hard, as group tagging involve collaborative elements, more
is easy to get the best from that world. content, more effects, more of almost
everything. I was a bit cynical of all of
Conclusion the cloud chat at NAMM, but with
Loopcloud is in the early stages of its something as elegant and inspiring as
life and is probably yet to find a this, the clouds are starting to clear. MT

MT Verdict
Future versions will allow + Makes sample managing a dream

you to buy content and even

+ Lovely linkage to your DAW
+ Fast searching
+ Could change the way you work

upload your own audio + Its free, give it a go!

+ Very clear interface

- Loopmasters only at present

to buy samples from Loopmasters,
although you dont have to. At present,
the company is giving you 1GB of
content as an incentive to give
Loopcloud a go and then there will be
weekly sets of samples uploaded to
your account for you to audition and
download for free and, yes, maybe buy
more from the collection at a later date.
direction that is easy to explain. My - Obviously dependent on your
brain needed telling a few times to get internet connection
my head around the concept, but I think
that is because the potential is so vast, We love any concept that makes
some more tedious studio stuff
not in any way because its a poor idea better, and this does just that,
indeed, Id say the opposite is true. If turning what was a pain into a joy.
you just take it as an easy way to search
through your Loopmasters content, 9/10
then because its free, its a no-brainer.

68 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

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 Raise your voice.
XS Wireless 1 & 2 microphone systems.
As a singer, speaker or instrumentalist, you want to connect
with your audience. Focus on your message not on the
equipment. Be confident. To meet those demands, Sennheiser
created the XS Wireless microphone system.
Thanks to its intuitive, one-touch scanning and synchronization,
XS Wireless 1 combines exceptional ease of use with great
sound quality. If youre ready to take the next step, XS Wireless 2
offers additional control, flexibility and ruggedness to withstand
the toughest live conditions. Its time to raise your voice.
For all microphone options visit sennheiser.com/xs-wireless

20170404_210x297_MusicTech_UK.indd 1 03.04.17 11:27

 MT Reviews Erica Synths Pico System 1

Choice

9/10
9
9/10
Small and bijou, the
beautifully compact
Pico System 1 from
Erica Synths

ERICA SYNTHS
Pico System 1
The Pico System 1 from Erica Synths is probably the
smallest fully formed Eurorack modular you can find.
Dave Gale shrinks down to Lilliputian size to take a look

O
ne of the criticisms levelled at numerous pots and controls to handle. of: Seq Step Sequencer; 2x VCOs;
Details Eurorack, as a concept, is that Erica has kept with this form, working VCF1 Filter; Trigger clock and drum
Manufacturer it can be quite difficult to get very much within the Eurorack sequencer; 2x Drums; Multi-buffered
Erica Synths
Price 1,210
started. You need to think tolerances, but each module is a mere mult; Rnd LFO/Random source; EG
Contact Erica Synths about cases, power, and selecting 3HP, just 14mm wide. In fact, its so slim, Envelope; VCA Amplifier; A Mix Audio
info@ericasynths.lv your first modules so that you have you have to question the keyhole mixer; DSP FX module; and finally, the
Web
www.ericasynths.lv
everything you need to make a noise. surgery that must have taken place to Output module.
Some companies have bought out nice make these modules. The tradeoff is a Lets just step back, draw breath,
solutions but for larger systems, the very small footprint for a full modular. and examine the options here. This
price can be exorbitant; while smaller
voice channel designs can sometimes
leave you wanting.
Latvian synth guru Erica Synths now
Its a fully fledged Eurorack
Key Features
Fully fledged
has an answer, offering a fully fledged
Eurorack system in a pint-sized 42HP
system in a pint-sized 42HP
subtractive
Eurorack
modular
case for around 1,000. This offers a bit
of a saving on the cost of the modules
case, costing around 1,000
Contains a purchased individually, so it could be
whopping
considered a bargain. But can big The case itself offers a slight angle means that we have the means to
14 modules
Two VCOs sounds come from small boxes? towards the user, with some lovely light create a sequence onboard, which can
included as wood-end cheeks finishing off the drive two VCOs, via a filter and envelope,
standard Previous form aesthetic. The included power supply and can be outputted to an FX module,
Two Drum
modules also
As many of us already know, Eurorack plugs into the rear, with the On/Off while we also have drums kicking off
included is based on the old standard of 3U switch located next door. around it. Thats insane! So the next
Two sequencers, in height, with width handled in HP Inside the actual modular, we question is, does it sound any good?
for both CV and
Gate triggering
(horizontal pitch). Most modules tend to have 14 modules, offering 12 different
System width: be in excess of 6 or 8HP, with larger functions, as there are two VCOs and 3HP to sound quality
42HP modules taking up considerably more two drum modules. So the lineup, all Lets start right at the beginning, with
space, which can be useful if you have drawn from Ericas Pico range, consists the VCOs. These are not VCOs in the

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traditional sense, as they are digital
(they would have to be, given the size),
but they do offer lots. There are two
banks of 16 waves, offering basic
Triangles, Saws and Pulses, through to
much more digital and harmonically
rich tones. There are also tones with
subs mixed in, which is helpful if you
dont want to use the second VCO purely
as a sub.
Blending the two VCOs together can
be achieved through the audio mixer,
although because of the nature of the
VCOs, I did find theyd grate and jar
quite easily. There is a degree of
harshness of digital tone here, so in my
view, theyd work better in a pairing if
either used in a modulatory fashion,
or pitched in a manner other than a
straight unison.
Talking of unisons, it is at this point
you discover that with the Pico form
comes a degree of tradeoff. Wave
selection and Tuning are achieved via
two small pots, with the tuning pot
covering around eight octaves. This is a
very long throw for such a small pot,
and with no fine-tune pot available, it
can be a bit of an effort to centre the
note in tune. Its also possible to
modulate the wave to meander, via
CV control and some excellent sonics
came tumbling from the VCOs, with one
patched to switch waveform, via LFO.
The VCOs actually sound pretty good;
they are clean and bright, with some
of the digital waveforms offering
MT170.REV Erica synths.indd 71
particular sonic interest. They can also
be switched to LFO mode, with the
register moving up into the audio range.
Moving to the VCF1, this is quite a
basic design, based loosely on the
Russian Polivoks filter. As well as the
expected Cutoff and Resonance pots,
there is a CV input, with attenuation, for
control of cutoff, and a switch to flick
between low-pass and band-pass
operation. The VCF will self-oscillate
quite nicely; in fact, it shrieks very well,
making it akin to something acid-like,
but it does suffer from the inevitable
low-end dropout associated with ladder
designs. I cant say that this is my
favourite style of filter, but its perfectly
acceptable and usable, and I think it
speaks volumes about who Erica
believes might be drawn to the Pico
System concept. Its a modular
groovebox with this in mind, it makes
sense to have used a characterful VCF
for those 303-style timbres.
Grooving in the box
So now weve broached the subject of
grooveboxes, we should explore this
further, as there are other elements
that give us clues and functionality.
Firstly, at the front end is the Seq
module, which provides a suitable
source for basic 16-step patterns. I say
basic, because it only offers a 16-step
capability, but within these steps, its no
slouch. The CV output is quantised to
one of nine scale types, while the gate
Erica Synths Pico System 1 Reviews MT
length is adjustable at the step level
and also offers glide, again at the step
level. Those 303-like groovebox
sensibilities are shining through again.
Sequences can be stored, in the
non-volatile memory, offering storage of
up to 16 patterns. It would have been a
useful addition to allow pattern
chaining, but then given the 3HP form
factor, Erica is already packing a lot into
a small module.
Thanks to the LED display, its
reasonably easy to enter steps and the
two onboard pots illuminate to give you
clues as to the mode of operation. On a
module of this size, its going to be a
little fiddly but surprisingly, its not too
bad at all on this front. Ive used
sequencers that are considerably
bigger and found them more confusing,
which is largely down to having a
reasonable display. I did find myself
referring to the manual often in order to
remember what the glowing colours of
the pots signified. Importantly, the Seq
module is also open to clocking from an
external source, which is pretty vital
when linked with our next port of call.
The Pico looks small Included in the Pico system are two
and compact against
drums modules and the Trigger module.
a full 84HP setup
The latter is essentially a sequencer for
drums but differing from the
aforementioned Seq module,
programming is achieved with any
HTML5 capable device, through Ericas
dedicated programming page, via any
device with a suitable audio output.
This means that by using a device such
as an iPad, iPhone or even computer,
you can both program and organise
patterns, delivering them by attaching a
mini-jack cable between the two
devices and sending an audio burst,
with the upload taking about half a
second. Its elegant and beautifully easy
to use, so much so that it made me
wonder why something similar couldnt
have been implemented with the Seq
module, to circumvent some of the
Alternatives
Given that this is a complete system, its
difficult to think of exact alternatives, as
this is a fully modular system, in a pint-sized
form. In size, it is very comparable to the
Moog Mother-32 which, at half the price, is
excellent value for money but will lack many
of the routing options available here. In sound,
the newly announced Studio Electronics
Tonestar 8106 has that groovebox feel and
timbre, sounding more like an SH-101 but
youll need a case to put it in. The Pittsburgh
Lifeforms Systems can be made up to a similar
spec, but not surprisingly, will be larger. All
of the suggested systems here do not offer
solutions for the drum side of the Pico, which
gives you a hint at how much you really get for
your money. Id consider buying the Pico Drums
modules to place in any system.
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 71
05/04/2017 10:56
 MT Reviews Erica Synths Pico System 1
keyhole programming. The Trigger
module offers four output channels, so
enough for the usual kick, snare, closed
hat and A.N.Other, which is where the
elegance of the two included Drums
modules come into play. Each Drums
module offers two tonal sound sources,
which are sample-based, and straight
out of the box there are plenty of useful
noises included everything from the
usual 808/909 sounds, to single
triggers drawn from the likes of the
classic Amen loop, along with various
white-noise-based snares and other
bleeps and whoops.
But the fun doesnt stop there, as
Erica has included its Programmer
dongle, which will allow the user to
remove the module from the case and
upload their own samples to the
module, for playback, via their
dedicated software which is accessible
from the website. Operating at a gritty
12-bit/44.1kHz resolution, triggering is
tight and punchy, with additional
control of onboard parameters, such as
Pitch, Volume and Decay. Again, I cant
help but scratch my head and wonder
how the bods at Erica have managed to
pack so much into such a tiny space,
and having the two modules, offering
four timbres in total, is a real coup. Its
very flexible, and despite the size,
actually very easy to use, although there
will be the predictable requirement to
remove the Drum modules from the
case if you want to upload your own
samples. Youll also have to provide
yourself with a Micro USB cable, to plug
72 | May 2017 MAGAZINE
MT170.REV Erica synths.indd 72
Its all patched in, in the Programmer, as this isnt
but surprisingly included, but theyre cheap enough to
clear to work with
purchase online, so no great shakes.
Once in operation as a combo, the
trio of Trigger and two Drums is a pretty
potent combination. The Trigger
module offers clocking options in both
directions, so its logical enough to send
a clock to the Seq module, to clock your
mono line together with your drums,
Again, I cant help but wonder
how the bods at Erica have
managed to pack so much in
and there it is: your own tiny groovebox,
with a vast amount of flexibility that you
only get with modular. CV control is
available to only the first drum on each
Drums module, at which point it is
possible to control the likes of pitch and
volume, or even the selected sample.
The utilitarian manifesto
This is a fully specd modular, so Erica
has taken the very wise precaution of
including a number of utility modules.
Starting with the Multi, we have an
active buffered two-channel unit, with
the addition of LEDs to display signal
presence. This is pretty vital for getting
the two VCOs to play together, otherwise
you would need to revert to stackable
cables or the like.
The Rnd module is a bit misleading
by name, and again offers a whole
bunch of useful features. As the name
implies, it will generate random CVs in
the shape of Sample And Hold, with a
white-noise output included, but also
has an accompanying pulse generator,
giving a mini Turing machine feel. Going
further, there is also a Sine and Pulse
LFO available, along with a clock input,
which is rare thing and much
appreciated on any system.
Youll obviously need an Envelope
generator and VCA in the equation, with
the latter offering two channels, both
with individual audio and CV input. The
EG envelope module, on the other hand,
is essentially AR-based but, thanks to a
central pot, modes can be swept to
induce states of sustain, giving it an
ASR feel instead. The phase shapes are
also switchable between logarithmic
and linear. Its basic, but in keeping with
the rest of the Pico modules, packs a lot
into a small area.
Still, I cant help but wonder why
Erica didnt make it a fully fledged ADSR
with small pots, given the complexity
and sophistication of the rest of the
system. Again, this may well have
something to do with the groovebox
roots, as the envelope is arguably in
that 303 camp.
The A Mix module is a great little
three-input audio mixer, with three
independent volume controls for each
channel, outputting to a signal-
summed mono output.
The backend
The final part of the Pico equation is at
the backend. There is an incredibly
useful output stage, offering a L-R
input, outputting to a mini-headphone
jack and a mini-jack stereo main
output, but why in stereo? Essentially
because preceding the output is the
DSP module, which is a bounty of great
effects, some of which are stereo.
Selected via a colourful light
(although itll be quite obvious when you
hear them), DSP offers Mono and
Stereo delays, Pitch-shifting and
Granular delays, Reverbs, Leslie
simulator and Overdrive/Bitcrush. All
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 MT Reviews Erica Synths Pico System 1
are highly usable and very clean in
timbre so much so, you almost feel
like you could use more than one.
Completing the full system lineup is
a good selection of colourful patch
cables, in various lengths, meaning that
nothing further is required to get
started, other than a suitable mini-jack
cable to get into your mixer or DAW. The
PSU is low voltage, and comes complete
with a full length IEC cable, so you wont
need to be cited close to a wall.
The only downside is the size.
Working with a patch can be
like wading through a jungle
Conclusion
Without beating around the bush, this is
quite a package. In use, there is plenty
of full-on fun to be had straight out of
the box. The VCOs are very functional
and have a great range, but strangely,
I preferred them in isolation, rather than
stacked in unison, where they just didnt
seem to sit well together. But thanks to
the large choice of waves, available as a
starting point, you can do far more with
the VCOs than just assign them in
74 | May 2017 MAGAZINE
MT170.REV Erica synths.indd 74
unison. For me though, the weakest
element is the filter which, although
grainy and functional, feels a little
unsophisticated. This has much to do
with its Polivoks roots, but I must agree
that in context, the filter has much to
offer, and many will like it. Its just my
personal view, but then its also residing
against the jewels that form the drum
part of the system. These are just
great and are very usable in a number
of settings.
I have to say that Erica has done an
excellent job of putting together a
highly elaborate and functional system,
in the smallest of footprints. Its all very
tidy, although the downside to that is
the size. Working with a patch can
become a little like wading through a
thick jungle of cables, but with
everything in very close proximity.
Its a little too close for comfort on
occasions, but that probably has more
to do with what I am used to, and the
fact that at my age, I like to see nice
clear legends, without the need to
squint (although I have used far worse
on that front). There is a lack of MIDI on
this system, probably because Erica
sees it as a standalone, but it would be
perfectly possible to create a basic
clock pulse from a DAW and send into
the Pico modular, so that you can record
any patterns for inclusion in DAW-
based work. However, as a standalone
setup, you would struggle to turn out a
whole song, on the fly, as the sequential
capabilities are not substantial enough.
Itll still prove to be a great source of
inspiration for getting ideas going,
though, and I feel that this could be its
greatest strength. The fact Erica has
also included so many modules, that
Left: The Holy Trinity are utility-based and really useful,
of a Trigger and two
underlines the fact that it clearly knows
Drums modules offers
a surprising amount what people want in a system.
of percussive punch Its coherent and well thought
Above: Beating a
through and is going to serve anyone
retreat using the iPad well, particularly if its their first foray
to program up into Eurorack. Outside of that, Im very
patterns to send to
the Trigger module impressed with the modules in general,
and can see many of them may well
find places in bigger systems. Dont be
fooled by the size, they really do pack
one hell of a punch! MT
Do I really need this?
If youre looking for a first foray into the world
of Eurorack, this could well be a great starting
point. Dont be fooled by the size, its a fully
fledged, fully functional modular in a small
footprint, which will also doubtless appeal to
those with limited space. With a tiny footprint
of 245x140mm (approx), everyone can find
a space to lose this on their desk, and the
routing options will be vast compared to
anything else that is this size, currently on
the market. I also believe that it represents
excellent value for money. Okay, its around
1,000, which is a lot of money for anyone, but
what you will be able to do with this is pretty
substantial, and on the modulation side alone,
it will leave most synths in the shadows.
A full-sized modular with this many modules
could easily cost another 500, so in this
respect, it is a bit of a bargain.
MT Verdict
+ Full modular system
+ Works as a standalone, right out
of the box
+ Vast routing possibilities
+ Plenty of timbral choice
from oscillators
+ Onboard sequencers
+ The Drum modules are excellent
+ Plenty of utility modules, too
+ Excellent value for money
- The size can make it fiddly
- The Polivoks filter is a
little Marmite
- No room for expansion
- No onboard MIDI
This is a really neat little system,
which packs an enormous punch
that is way above its tiny footprint.
Good value, too.
9/10
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STEINBERG Excellence
10/10
Cubase 9
Groundbreaking new features, streamlined workflows and useful
new plug-ins make Cubase 9 a sublime tool for seamless creativity
and sonic inspiration. Marc JB has spent a couple of months
digging into its vast depths for this detailed review
W
Details hat makes Cubase so
Manufacturer good? At the moment,
Steinberg Im sitting in my VW
Price
468
campervan by the sea in
Web Whitstable. As I sit here enjoying the
www.steinberg.net views, thinking about writing this review
on Cubase 9, I cant help but draw
parallels between the rock-solid
German engineering and ergonomic
functionality of my campervan and
Cubase. German engineering is tried
and tested every feature is minutely
The workflow is flexible so you
can use it in a way that suits you
and becomes second nature
scrutinised and designed to its
maximum ergonomic efficiency. When
it comes down to using the product and
pushing it to its limits, it excels.
Steinberg has been designing and
manufacturing music software and
hardware since 1984, when Manfred
Rrup and Karl Charlie Steinberg composing, recording, editing and
developed the first MIDI multitrack
sequencer. Since 2005, Steinberg has
become a wholly owned subsidiary of
MT170.REV Cubase.indd 77
Yamaha. There is great history, heritage
and technological revolution with
Steinberg, then, coupled with a passion
and care for providing exceptional
products for musical creators.
Cubase 9 comes in three formats:
Pro with full functionality, Artist for the
mid market and Elements as an
entry-level DAW. Head over to
www.steinberg.net for the differences
between the products. What does
Cubase 9 do? Simply put, Cubase is a
tool to inspire musical creativity into
audio reality. Steinberg claims it is the
most complete DAW ever, with millions
of musicians, producers and sound
engineers around the world using the
software every day. Cubase covers all
stages of the creative process from
the Sampler Track. Use any piece of
mixing. The workflow is flexible, so you
can use it in a way that suits you, which
means that it becomes second nature
Steinberg Cubase 9 Reviews MT
Eight features that rock in Cubase
The 32-bit, oating-point audio engine with
up to 192kHz, 5.1 surround, exible routing
and full automatic delay compensation.
Unlimited yes unlimited audio,
instrument and MIDI tracks, with up to 256
physical inputs and outputs.
MixConsole for a pro mixing-desk
experience, integrated channel strip, VCA
faders, Loudness meter, and Wave meters.
90 audio and MIDI VST FX processors
including Quadrafuzz v2; VST Amp Rack and
VST Bass Amp guitar and bass tone suites;
REVerence convolution reverb; Frequency
eight-band EQ and many more.
VariAudio for Melodyne-style editing of
monophonic audio tracks, automatic voicing
harmonisation and auto-tuning effects.
Eight outstanding instruments with over
3,400 sounds, including HALion Sonic SE 2,
Groove Agent SE 4, Padshop, Retrologue 2
and LoopMash 2.
Easy automation of parameters and super
easy automation editing within the main
project window.
Render Audio With FX And Instruments with
one press of a key.
to use as a tool to realise musical ideas.
Cubase is used by high-profile artists
like Zedd, Chase & Status, My Digital
Enemy, New Order and Hans Zimmer.
Whats new?
The new Lower Zone in the project
window provides a neat and tidy way to
see your mixer tracks and edit MIDI and
audio without creating a new window.
On a 5k iMac screen, the mixer retains
its functionality while leaving enough
room for creating and editing in the
main window. However, on a 15-inch
Mac laptop, it leaves the screen a bit
crowded, so in this case, its better to
open and close the mixer window with
the key command =.
To edit audio or MIDI, double-click
on the part and the editor automatically
opens at the bottom of the screen in the
Lower Zone. Editing is intuitive, and I
love that you can easily close that lower
zone by pressing Enter. It takes a little
while to get used to the new workflow
here, but the functionality is much
smoother and quicker to navigate.
A really fun new feature in 9 is
audio to create a Sampler Track and the
audio appears in the Lower Zone as a
chromatically mapped sample. It comes
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 77
06/04/2017 09:43
 Steinberg Cubase 9 Reviews MT

Cubase highlights
Cubase is refined and straightforward on the
surface, but underneath lies a huge dimension
of creational possibilities and programmable
features. It would be impossible to go through
all of them, but here are just a few of my
highlights in the software:

Quadrafuzz 2, a multiband distortion tool.

Add some tape saturation to the third band
to get sounds soaring out of the mix with an
effortless, crisp clarity.
Groove Agent SE 4
This MPC-style drum machine sounds great
with the presets. It s also a full-blown drum
sampler. My favourite way to use it is to slice
up a vocal take using the Create Slices At Hit
Points function and drag the whole take onto
the rst Groove Agent drum pad. The audio
slices are then mapped across the keyboard
for instant audio-glitch mayhem.

VariAudio
This amazing tool gets you right into the
pitch and timing of your audio. Create
natural-sounding vocals from dreadful vocal
takes and invent rich harmonies and textures.
There are a few ways that this interface could
be bettered for example, snapping to scale,
using a standard scissor tool hunting for
the little line at the bottom is a pain) and
a hit-point detection when detecting the
changes in pitch.
Cubase setup within with a very useful sample library
Marc JBs great studio called Kaleidoscope.
I also love the ease of creating new
sonic textures from projects. On a
recent project, I had the artist sing an
Ahhhhh into the mic, dropped it
straight into Sampler Track and then
used it as a pad to fill out her bridge
all this programmed in a matter of
seconds. If youre into glitch vocals
and mind-warping vocal effects, this
is a great feature for you. The all-new
Frequency EQ plug-in is another very
and you can undo/redo several stages
from your mix. Hurrah!
And theres more
As we know, everything is going
cloud-based these days. Steinberg also
blazes a trail on this new frontier with
its comprehensive cloud-collaboration
features. Whether you want to make
remote recordings with VST Connect SE
or exchange projects via VST Transit,
collaboration has never been easier
with the software.

Reverence
ne of the best reverbs ever. Great for silky,
lush vocals and neverending halls. Try putting
Cubase 9 is one of the most
a long reverb tail on a vocal, render the audio
and reverse for a brilliant effect. stable and reliable DAWS that
I have ever experienced
powerful new tool for sound shaping Steinberg has overhauled some
and audio surgery. Frequency offers you plug-ins. Maximizer gets a fresh new
Multiband Envelope Shaper
eight bands, M/S (Mid Side) support coat and an in-depth algorithm
I use this more than I use EQ. It puts punch
into snares, makes percussive instruments and Linear Phase mode for each band. overhaul. Choose between the classic
pop out of the mix, gets rid of boomy With M/S, you can widen or narrow the mode and the new modern mode for
resonances and brings dynamics to life.
stereo width of the audio by EQing the loud, transparent mixes.
stereo aspect of the audio. Linear Phase
mode is amazing for making Rock-solid use
transparent sonic changes, especially Im delighted to say that after installing
during mastering. Auto-listen is handy all of the software, Cubase 9 is one of
for hunting frequencies the spectrum the most stable and reliable DAWS I
display is very responsive and those have experienced, allowing more focus
lovely engineers at Cubase have even on creativity and production.
included a musical keyboard to help us To help make the system rock
find the right tones. steady, the new Plug-in Sentinel scans
Now, the MixConsole has a history, all plug-ins to check they are valid, and
so all changes to the mix are tracked if it thinks that they may harm your

MAGAZINE May 2017 | 79

MT170.REV Cubase.indd 79 06/04/2017 09:43

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32-bit plug-ins are saved
Cubase 9 only runs in 64-bit mode. At rst,
I thought Yikes! as I would have no backward
compatibility with old projects using
32-bit-only plug-ins. Thank goodness a good
producer friend who lives on my road told me
about 32 Lives, which scans for your precious
32-bit plug-ins and wraps them in a layer of
64-bit code. ot only did I resurrect most of
my go-to plug-ins, I also managed to spark
new life into some forgotten, obsolete synths
I had. This was my main fear in going 64-bit
only. Im so pleased to have made the jump
as the system is more stable, faster and able
to access ridiculous amounts of memory to
power those hungry sample-based synths.
systems stability, the plug-ins are then
put in a black list folder inside the
plug-in manager.
With the new Audio-Ins
functionality, VST synths with a
sidechain can accept an external audio
source. Now you can use the filters and
FX in compatible synths to mangle and
beautify your sonic creations.
Need some more inspiring beats
and grooves to fire up your tracks?
But what actually makes
Cubase so great that it is
worth the 46 price tag
Production Grooves feeds your Groove
Agent drum machine with over 400
drum loops and presets for all
contemporary music styles.
Retrologue is updated to version 2.
This VST synth is more than a tribute to
the classic analogue heavyweights of
the past. Packed in a straightforward
interface, Retrologue brings back the
sound of analogue circuitry and vintage
warmth, but with a modern twist. From
raw analogue lead and bass sounds to
MT170.REV Cubase.indd 81
delicate pads and structures, dark
drones and ultra-aggressive comps,
Retrologue 2 is a stunningly powerful,
yet versatile subtractive synthesiser
with loads of sonic personality, and one
that is potentially highly addictive. It
sounds super lush and its easy to
tweak and build sounds.
In final Cubase 9 news, if you love
your markers, now you can use up to 10
marker tracks. The new AutoPan offers
a bigger variety and flexibility to play
with your sound in space. The Brickwall
Limiter, Compressor, Expander, Gate
and Envelope Shaper have all had a
graphic overhaul.
Conclusion
Okay, so thats great, I hear you say,
but what actually makes Cubase 9 so
great that its worth the 468 price tag,
especially when Logic is only 199 in
the app store?
I use a DAW on average five hours a
day, 250 days a year thats 1,250 hours
of solid producing, sitting at the
computer pressing buttons, making
music. I have used most DAWS in a
professional capacity, but there is a
reason that I choose to use Cubase as
my tool for music creation, and that is
simply that its a pleasure to use. The
interface is easy on the eyes, everything
is placed in a functional and ergonomic
position, the software is tried and
tested, built with that famous German
engineering. Cubase looks great, too:
I love the way a project builds up into
Steinberg Cubase 9 Reviews MT
It certainly looks bright rainbows of colour. But the best
great on a big screen thing about the software is that its
almost not there it steps out of the
way to enable creative ideas to become
a reality. After a while working with
Cubase and navigating workflow and
key commands, the process becomes
incredibly intuitive. This is exactly what
a great DAW should do.
Cubase is elegant and understated,
and a delight to use. The extra 269 over
the cost of Logic spread out over my
yearly 1,250 hours of music producing
works out as only 21p an hour, which is
a tiny cost for such a great tool. MT
Alternatives just six, from many
APPLE L GIC PR X, 199 an all-round
beast for musical creation with plenty of
effects and instruments.
AVID PR T LS 12, 516 the heavyweight
DAW used in many top pro studios.
ABLET LIVE 9, 299 create, produce
and perform, a real winner with producing
cutting-edge genres.
BITWIG STUDI 2, 319 the new kid on the
block packs an incredible punch.
IMAGE-LI E FL STUDI , 1 9 Producer
edition) this started as Fruity Loops and is
now an in the box production powerhouse.
TRAC TI T , from 60 The musicians
DAW, with a huge amount of creative
possibilities for a small entry price.
MT Verdict
+ Breathtaking and incredible
audio quality
+ Efficient, ergonomic workflow
+ Huge creative possibilities
+ Inspiring to use
+ Complete in the box solution
+ 32-bit VSTs can be resurrected
with 32 Lives
- There are cheaper DAWS
- No set to scale in pitch and warp
- You may not have tried it yet!
Cubase 9 is an elegant and
powerful DAW that is a delight to
use. The workflow is highly efficient
and the interface is beautiful. An
exceptional DAW to create inspired
music with pristine quality.
10/10
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 81
06/04/2017 09:43
 MT Reviews Plugin Alliance/Black Box Analog Design HG-2

Choice

9/10
PLUGIN ALLIANCE/
BLACK BOX ANALOG DESIGN
HG-2
Can the Black Box HG-2 plug-in deliver the same analogue-tube
magic of the original hardware unit? Alex Holmes loads up a mix
and prepares to put on some weight

R
Details eleased under two years ago, the frequency response to Dark, Normal an overall sound-and-mix shaper its
Manufacturer Plugin the HG-2 hardware box or Bright colouration. surprisingly flexible and the sound
Alliance/Black Box quickly became a mix-buss quality is exceptional. With a bit of
Analog Design
Price $249
favourite for many engineers Weight gain tweaking, everything we put through it
Contact via website around the world. It is praised for Its quite a lot to take in at first, and the we managed to make sound better.
Web www.plugin- its ability to add subtle harmonic signal flow and gain staging take some Possibly the best praise we can give is
alliance.com colouration and sparkle without getting used to, but experimentation on that its arguably the closest weve come
Minimum system compromising quality, and to make different material can help you to date to adding analogue-sounding
requirements
Windows 7, Intel- tracks sound richer, fuller, louder, bigger understand the kinds of sounds that mojo in the box, and its definitely found
compatible CPU and punchier at the same peak level. the HG-2 is capable of. Whether youre a permanent home on our mix buss. Its
with SSE2 instruction
set (P4-compatible
Black Box Analog Design has now using it on a specific kick drum or vocal not especially cheap, but if you can
or higher, min 2GHz teamed up with Brainworx and Plugin track, on a whole drum buss or on the snap it up in one of Plugin Alliances
recommended), Alliance to produce a plug-in version, so entire mix, the HG-2 can add subtle regular sales, then its a no-brainer. MT
2GB RAM
OS X 10.8, Intel CPU you can enjoy its analogue loveliness warmth and shimmer, or aggressive
only (min 2GHz from the comfort of your favourite DAW. analogue-sounding distortion.
recommended), Alternatives
One of our favourite things to do was
2GB RAM Theres no shortage of saturation plug-ins
Series link to set the filter to high and add some air, including Wave Arts Tube Saturator 2 ($99),
The plug-in emulates the input and then set the mix to 50 per cent and which is an excellent emulation but with a
smaller sound palette; or for more extreme
output transformers, plus the four volume-match it with the original. This sounds, theres SoundToys Decapitator
different vacuum-tube stages of the actually opened out the top end while ($199). PA also have the Vertigo Sound VSM-3
original unit including the main 6U8A clearing out some resonant mid- and ($299) which generates different flavours of
harmonics and also has M/S.
pentode and triode tubes that run in low-midrange frequencies. Similarly, we
series. You have two large dials to placed the HG-2 on a drum mix that
control how hard you hit these tubes, lacked weight, and set the saturation to MT Verdict
plus a parallel saturation path where Low, then tweaked parameters to add
+ High-end, master-quality sound
you can alternate between two other, some tube weight, while leaving the top + Relatively light on CPU
Key Features differently voiced 12AX7 tubes. This end relatively untouched. + New secret weapon for
Hardware- parallel circuit has a low, flat and high Although the wet/dry mix control increasing RMS
modelled tube frequency selector, so you can feed is a fantastic addition for parallel + Capable of adding elusive
saturation analogue mojo!
some focussed crunch back into the processing, it would have also been
Pentode and
Triode tubes, main signal path. Theres also an Air useful to have a final volume control so - Hard to get your head around
plus parallel tube button and Air Amount dial, that can be you can accurately volume-match when at first
saturation path - Gain staging is a bit fiddly
used to add some beautiful sheen bypassed. Considering how much is
Air, dry/wet,
above 10kHz. In addition to the original going on under the hood, its been well - No final volume output control
Density, and
internal calibration hardware controls, you also have a Mix optimised for CPU usage, and we were A fantastic, high-quality processor
controls dial for parallel processing; an Input able to get over 30 instances running on that can be used to work magic on
Adds warmth,
control; a Density dial that balances the a 2011 Mac Book Pro. a range of material, with a variety
punch, sheen and
increased RMS input and output at the same time, so of saturation colours available in
a single plug-in.
AAX DSP, you can drive the tubes harder while Je ne sais quoi
AAX Native, AU,
VST2, VST3
keeping the volume the same; and an
internal trim calibration that modifies
The HG-2 may not be the most versatile
plug-in for full-on sound design, but as
9/10
82 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

MT170.REV Plug-in HG2.indd 82 05/04/2017 10:58

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 MT Reviews Universal Audio API 2500 Bus Compressor

Choice

9/10
9
9/10

UNIVERSAL AUDIO
API 2500 Bus Compressor
As one of the most well-respected bus compressors, it
was only a matter of time before the API 2500 made its way
onto the UAD platform. Mark Cousins takes a closer look

U
Details niversal Audios growing range
Manufacturer
of plug-ins for its UAD
Universal Audio powered plug-ins platform
Price 229 offers an Aladdins Cave of
Web audio hardware in software form.
www.uaudio.com
From classic vintage compressors to
equalisers and reverb units, theres
little, it seems, that isnt covered by the
range. The API 2500 Bus Compressor is
the companys latest offering,
painstakingly modelled from the
On the busses
On first use, the API 2500 works in
much the same way as any other VCA
bus compressor: like SSLs G Series Bus
Compressor or Vertigo Sounds VSC-2.
Dial in a soft knee and a 2:1 ratio, for
example, and you get an SSL-like mix
glue where the compressor gels the
track together without any noticeable
pumping. The programme-dependent
As youd expect, the Feed-forward
routing tends to result in a touch more
gain reduction, but with an added
transparency; while the Feed-back
routing loses some gain reduction
but adds a touch more character.
Thrust control
Next up is Thrust, which strategically
inserts a high-pass filter into the

Thrust strategically inserts a

original hardware version and
partnering well with its existing

high-pass filter in the sidechain

API 500-series equalisers and API
Vision Channel Strip.

path, changing the response

However, with plenty of excellent
bus compressors already on the UAD
platform, does the API 2500 really add
anything new or interesting to what can
already be achieved?
Rather than being a jack-of-all-
trades compressor, the original API
Key Features
2500 is firmly planted in the role of bus
Entire circuit
path and control compression, thanks to both its relative
set of the API audio transparency, but also a number
hardware
of additional features including a
Patented Thrust
sidechain Thrust control and some intriguing link
filtering functionality which work to set it
New and Old apart from other existing hardware bus
compressor
types compressors. Its also worth noting that
Universal Audio has thoughtfully
Variable
sidechain link included a Mix control thats not found
Dry/wet parallel on the original unit, and this adds to
processing
both the flexibility and transparency
of the API 2500 in plug-in form.
release helps the musicality of the
compressor, and even at extremes, it
delivers an efficient and musically
effective gain control that doesnt
dominate the source material.
The API 2500s operation gets much
more interesting when you start to
explore the Tone section, particularly
with respect to the Thrust and Type
controls. With Type, the API 2500 can
move between a Feed-forward or
Feed-back compressor topology
(labelled New and Old respectively) that
contrasts the performance of a typical
VCA compressor with the less forgiving
sound of something like a UREI 1176.
sidechain path, changing the
compressors response and, more
importantly, how the low end carries.
The control has three settings
Normal, Medium and Loud with Loud
delivering a noticeable difference in the
low-end punch. Given that the wrong
dose of bus compression can often
Alternatives
Like the UAD version, Waves API 2500
faithfully captures the charms of the original
analogue hardware although, of course, it
will take a hit on your computers CPU rather
than the UAD DSP expansion. The UAD version
also adds a Mix control and an adjustable
Headroom, which may give it the edge.

84 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

MT170.REV UAD API 2500.indd 84 05/04/2017 11:02 Music


compromise low-end performance, you
can see why the Thrust circuitry is a real
asset. Another good addition is the Link
section, which took us by surprise as we
noticed the gain-reduction meters were
moving somewhat independently of
one another. Link, therefore, lets you
dial-in the level of interdependency
between the two channels, so that
the two channels are 100-per-cent
linked or alternatively, they gain an
increasingly level of autonomy. From a
musical perspective, it means that a
MusicTech HalfPage.indd
MT170.REV 1
UAD API 2500.indd 85
Universal Audio API 2500 Bus Compressor Reviews MT
The Thrust, Type and 3dB delivered from a fine-tuned API
Link controls make 2500 can make all the difference. While
the 2500 a versatile
low-end sculptor and other bus compressors can deliver good
a tool for independent results, the API 2500s Thrust, Type and
gain reduction
Link controls really set it apart and can
certainly give it the edge over more
limted compressors. Of course, if youre
a colourful compression junkie you
might want to look elsewhere, but if you
want precision and control, the API
2500 delivers in spades. MT
MT Verdict
+ Perfect for transparent
bus compression
+ Thrust improves low end
loud crash cymbal in the right-hand + Variable linking feature
+ Flexible operation
channel neednt attenuate the
left-hand side of the kit, giving you - Alternative offerings not tied
more control over where and how to UAD hardware
the compression is applied. - Some users might prefer
more colour
Compression obsession A faithful recreation of the API
Having been initially unexcited by the 2500, complete with the Thrust and
prospect of another bus compressor, Link circuitry that makes the API
we have to admit to being won over by one of the most transparent bus
compressors ever built.
9/10
the versatility of the API 2500. Naturally,
it shines across a drum bus, but across
a stereo bus or in mastering, the 2 or
20/02/2017 11:02
05/04/2017 14:35
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 AJH Synth Utilities Reviews MT

Right: Dual LFO + VCA

Putting right the absence
of a dedicated LFO on the
original Minimoog, the new Dual LFO
module from AJH has lots to offer,
other than just LFOs

Far right: DH-ADSR

Another improvement on the
classic Minimoog design, with the
added quotient of a full ADSR
envelope, and more besides

Excellence

AJH SYNTH 10/10

Dual LFO + VCA,
DH-ADSR, CV Mixer,
V-Scale Buffer and
Gain SW Multi
AJH Synth surprised us recently at NAMM 2017 with the
release of five new utility-type MiniMods. Dave Gale gets
his hands on this latest crop of exceptionally useful modules

A
Details JH Synths reputation has that can be set to modulate away
Manufacturer been completely sealed over from the clock pulse, without any through to Triangle
AJH Synth the last year or so, not only relationship whatsoever. So having and on to a downward Saw ramp, or
Price Available in
black/silver
with the enormous popularity two free-flowing LFOs is a positive via the second output, Pulses and
Dual LFO + VCA: of the exceptionally fine MiniMod boon, but thats just the beginning! Squares can be derived, in various
210/195 system (reviewed MT156), but also with Labelled very clearly, LFO 1 and LFO 2 incarnations. The rate of these waves is
DH-ADSR Envelope:
210/195 some further additions last year in the have separate controls of rate, as well applied via dedicated rate pots, relating
CV Mix-Offset-VCA: shape of the Sonic XV filter and Ring SM as shape, with dual outputs for both, to each LFO. Its nice and clear to read
155/145
ring mod and sub-oscillator module, that offer either Triangle-to-Saw-based and use, and has rates in the extreme,
V-Scale Variable
Precision Multi: which were both a credit to the product
105/105 line. Allan Hall, who is the creative
Gain Switch Multi:
70/70
genius behind AJH, is never
a person to stand still, and Ive always
A Slow switch offers very
long LFO sweeps in the range of
Contact
07867 008964 had this feeling hes been beavering
sales@ajhsynth.com
away in the background, working out

0.5 seconds to 100 seconds

Web
www.ajhsynth.com how to improve both the feel and
functionality of his products as
though being hand-made in the UK,
with weapons-grade parts, wasnt
enough. So here we have five new
modules, all of which have something
to offer either the existing MiniMod
system, or can stand alone in a crowded
modular and fight their corner.
Dual LFO + VCA
Its my belief that every Eurorack rig
should have at least one free-flowing
LFO, as its so useful to have an element
waveforms from one source output,
and Square/Pulse-like waves from the
other. This means itd be entirely
possible to use the Pulse-based
outputs as a form of sync Pulse, locking
things together nicely, although AJH
has included a Sync input on LFO 1,
which will happily restart your chosen
wave with a Pulse from elsewhere.
The wave controls themselves
sweep from either upward Saw ramp,
offering timings between 1ms and 6.5
seconds, depending on your chosen
wave, but there is also an enticing Slow
switch, which relates to LFO 1, offering
bewilderingly long LFO sweeps in the
range of 0.5 seconds to 100 seconds!
I was curious, thinking this might be a
misprint in the manual, so I timed it
I actually found it to be just a shade
longer than 100 seconds at around 104,
but Im certainly not going to get hung

MAGAZINE May 2017 | 87

MT170.REV AJH Modules.indd 87 03/04/2017 11:16

cables + leads ad:Layout 1 09/02/2017 15:46 Page 1

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Excellence
10/10
up on that minor
detail. Lets just say its a very long time,
at whatever frequency that happens to
be and the analogue circuitry is at
play here and can induce differing
times via the capacitors, especially in
such a long cycle.
In use, the LFOs have that perfect
synergy of doing what you want, and
exhibiting small amounts of analogue
behaviour, when adjusting them. That
aside, this also completes a bit of a
The ADSR envelope has been
very carefully engineered to
offer Moog-like behaviour
circle elsewhere with the AJH MiniMod
system, where the mimicry of the
original Moog Model D means that
there was no LFO youd have to place
one of the VCOs into Lo mode, to get
LFO modulation to happen. Frankly, this
is a colossal waste of one of AJHs
oscillators. The MiniMod VCOs are so
good, it would be a crime to use them
MT170.REV AJH Modules.indd 89
AJH Synth MiniMod modules Reviews MT
on issues of such mundanity, so the button and a re-trigger function, which
addition of an LFO here is both tactical is always a welcome addition to an
and welcome, and will do far more than envelope and will prevent the user from
was offered in the original Moog Model getting RSI, if those repetitive basslines
D manifesto. Key Features are required.
But were not done just yet. This DUAL LFO + VCA This is only part of the deal, as the
module, as you will see from the name, Module width : envelopes DH (Delay/Hold) element
10HP
also offers a VCA circuit which is basic, can be brought into play. The delay
Module depth :
but useful and dutiful nonetheless. As 26mm aspect is a pre-delay device, which
well as offering the usual sort of VCA Current usage: delays the start of commencement of
duties, its also designed so that it 25mA positive, the envelope phase, once the gate is
22mA negative
can be patched into a keyboard or Two independent
activated, delaying by up to 10 seconds.
interface, so that live mod-wheel LFOs, with In addition, the Hold element dictates
movements can be utilised just like a inbuilt VCA how long the gate is open for, meaning
Sweepable
regular synth keyboard so I think that single and quick triggers can be
waves available
that its fair to say that, as far as LFO given to start a long and unwinding
devices go, pretty much all aspects DH-ADSR envelope phase. This could be really
have been covered. ENVELOPE useful for timbres that might unravel
Module width :
with a single pulse, over a long time
10HP
DH-ADSR Envelope Module depth : frame. Helpfully, the pots are labelled in
Legendary as the original 26mm seconds, meaning that there is a useful
Minimoog Model D was/is, one Current usage: point of reference.
30mA positive,
area that always undermined it 12mA negative
All of this stacks up to a very
was in the envelope department, Full four-stage comprehensive envelope, with the final
where a lack of the now-favoured ADSR envelope cherry on the cake being the addition of
full ADSR envelope was, in my Delay/hold a second output, which is inverted. This
phase available
view, something that always left Inverted output
is offered for exploitation at the same
it lacking so again, this is also available time as the non-inverted phase.
another area where AJH have For anyone who is just looking for a
CV MIXER -
made considerable gains to try
OFFSET - VCA
good envelope, this is a feature-rich
and offer both the original Module width :
module to audition. But if you have an
envelope designs, as seen in its 10HP existing MiniMod system, this is an
MiniMod system and now in Module depth : absolute must to look at. In my system, I
26mm
this new, improved, full-ADSR placed it alongside my existing AJH
Current usage:
design, which brings the MiniMod 30mA positive, Dual Envelopes, and found the two
system bang up-to-date. 12mA negative working really nicely together; but Im
On offer here is a single-envelope Four-channel wondering how long it will be before I
polarising mixer
channel, as opposed to the dual design can resist the temptation of having two
DC-coupled VCA
previously seen, but with far more of these DH-ADSR modules in my
control and functionality. So much so, V-SCALE MiniMod rig.
its likely that if you have a MiniMod VARIABLE
PRECISION
system, youll want two of these! BUFFER
CV Mix - Offset - VCA
Starting with the basics, we have a Module width: In true AJH style, the CV Mixer module is
standard ADSR envelope, which has 4HP useful on several levels and, while not
been very carefully engineered to offer Module depth : an obvious module to consider at first
26mm
the same Moog-like behaviour Current usage:
sight, might just end up being a Swiss
perviously seen. However, the 15mA positive, Army Knife for your modular. In the first
15mA negative instance, its a four-channel polarising
Adjustable-
mixer, and without any plugging up, the
precision
active buffer Input 1 pot can immediately act as a
Five outputs, voltage source, making it very useful for
of which four
creating drones and more. But then as
are adjustable
we examine the other three input pots,
GAIN SW MULTI
Module width:
2HP
we find that each one has its own party
trick. Input 2 is a regular but useful
attenuverter, allowing a signal to be
Module depth :
behaviour feels far more befitting of a 26mm
positively or negatively controlled; while
contemporary instrument and, simply Current usage: input 3 will amplify a CV by two, if you
put, allows complete control previously N/A passive need a little extra CV voltage. Input 4
module
not seen with the Minimoog. Putting offers CV offsetting, so when you comp
Instant gain
this to one side, there are some other switching for all of this together, a sum can be
nice new additions, in the shape of a MiniMod VCF/ created for some extreme CV
VCA owners
Slow mode, which will slow the ADR modulation madness, but thats far
Six-way
phase times down to 20 per cent of passive mult from the end of the story. Each of the
normal, and we also have a trigger input pots is calibrated to offer both
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 89
03/04/2017 11:16
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 MT Reviews AJH Synth MiniMod modules
Choice
9/10
9
9/10
Choice
9/10
9
9/10
positive and negative control and as an
added bonus, signals are converted
from a bipolar +/- signal to a unipolar
CV, operating between 0 to +5 volts. This
is exceptionally useful in Eurorack, as
many modules require a unipolar signal
to operate and modulate effectively. So
as if all of this werent enough, AJH has
thrown in a VCA CV, too, which also has
the advantage of being DC-coupled.
I think its important to stress here
how at first glance, this could be one of
MT170.REV AJH Modules.indd 91
AJH Synth Utilities Reviews MT
Alternatives
There is obviously an abundant supply of
envelopes and LFOs on the market, but few
come up to the quality of the AJH modules.
In envelope terms, Ive always liked the build
quality of the Pittsburgh Modular ADSR, which
is snappy and well made, but for LFOs, I have
always loved the Vermona fourMulator, which
although digital in design, has the analogue
hands-on feel that you want, with the huge
flexibility of being freewheeling or clockable.
The CV Mix is the renegade of the bunch,
offering far more than most, however, the
Mutable Instruments Shades offers similar
functionality, but with the ability to separate
out CV channels.
separate outputs, as that would have
been incredibly useful and would allow
for use in multiple capacities but the
summing of this module is a thing of joy,
and I found myself getting lost in CV
modulations that were incredibly
complex, thanks to the numerous
summing options.
V-Scale Variable Buffer
Weve all had those VCOs that dont
track as well as they might, and
although this is often an issue for
modules at the cheaper end of the
market, its not unique to them. Ive seen
issues with quite expensive modules
too, so this is where the V-Scale Buffer
could be exceptionally useful.
The concept here is to take a pitch
CV and run it into the input on the
module. Five outputs are then offered:
the first being a straight duplicate of
the input, but the next four outputs all
have a small adjustment screw located
next to the corresponding output,
meaning that it is possible to add or
subtract +/- 5 volt to each output. This
will help with the aforementioned
modules that just dont track and might
be especially useful if you have a VCF
which youre also trying to track, for the
purposes of pitch.
It could be argued that the
requirement of a jewellers-type
screwdriver for use here is a little fiddly,
The summing of this module
Above left: V-Scale
Troublesome pitch
CVs? This could be
the panacea to all
your pitch woes, and
fix four pitch channels
is a thing of joy, I was lost in
complex CV modulations
at a time
Above right: CV Mix
If you like summing
CVs, this is a module
that will prove those utility modules that you think you and it might have been nice to replace
indispensable might not need, but then, as you start to them with small pots, but I can
or use it to drive a
drone, with Input 1s create a complex patch, you find understand why. The small grub screws
voltage output yourself needing a little extra CV control will offer a much smaller level of
and its in those circumstances that adjustment, which is important when
this starts to become indispensable. calibrating voltages for pitch, but its
Its is a shame theres no facility for going to be a little fiddly. Therefore, it
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 91
03/04/2017 11:16
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 AJH Synth MiniMod modules Reviews MT

Left: Gain Switch in any Eurorack setting. The CV Mix is an

Control overdrive exceptionally useful bit of kit, especially
from the front of your
MiniMod system if you have a penchant for summing
the new Gain Switch CVs, which is where it really excels. The
sitting pretty between
V-Scale and Gain Switch look after
VCF and VCA
specific issues and do so excellently,
but wont be for everyone.
Choice Above all, I love the hand made in

9/10
9
9/10
the UK aspect to these new modules,
and you can be sure theyll always come
with a reassuring sheen of excellent
quality. AJH Synth is gaining huge
ground worldwide, with a stunning
reputation, and in this strange twilight
post-Brexit era in which we reside,
I cant help but feel somewhat delighted
and proud for them. MT

Do I reallly need this?

could mean that you set your offsets to
correspond with specific VCOs or VCFs,
and doing so would result in a much
cheaper solution than having to employ
a quantiser to put things right.
Theres no doubt AJH has come up
with an incredibly useful module here,
and one that, once I saw its purpose,
immediately had me smiling and
agreeing to myself how useful it would
be. Sure, its fiddly, but then thats a
a front panel, so this nifty little module
allows a connection to the jumpers for
instant switching to this mode, or off
again. With all that additional fascia
space, AJH has added a handy six-way
multi, which is passive in flavour.
The cables that connect to the AJH
MiniMod VCF and VCA are quite short in
order to keep noise to a minimum,
which does mean this module will have
to be situated between them. But you
If you have a MiniMod system, I think its fair to
say youll probably be drooling at the prospect
of adding considerable enhancements to
your Moog-esque system. Without doubt, the
Dual LFO and DH-ADSR will hugely extend
the operation of the original MiniMod system,
but dont overlook the CV Mix, which should
end up being a golden ticket of a module, if
you happen to be that way inclined. These
three modules should appeal to all, in all
settings, but the V-Scale could also be hugely
indispensable if you are having issues with
certain modules and their ability to play in
tune. The Gain Switch is great, for what it
is, but pointless buying just for the Multi,
as there are cheaper Multis elsewhere, and
the switches will be redundant without the
MiniMod VCF and VCA.
MT Verdict
+ Exceptionally useful set
of modules
+ DH-ADSR, Dual LFO and CV Mix
would be very at home in any rig
+ CV Mix offers huge control of CVs
+ Gain Switch is a must if you have

The Dual LFO and DH-ADSR

a MiniMod system
+ Very flexible in use,
and largely multifunctional
are outstanding modules and + The build quality is second
to none

will feel at home in any system - Lack of separate outputs on

small price compared to the annoyance
of a VCO playing out of tune.
Gain SW Multi
The final module in the new AJH lineup
is one that will mostly appeal to owners
of the MiniMod system. Part of the
Moog cloning with the MiniMod was the
addition of a jumper on the VCA and
VCF modules. This could be removed
from the rear circuit board in order to
mimc the old Minimoog trick, where the
headphone jack was run back into the
MiniMoogs external input, which would
in turn create overdrive.
AJH has listened to its users, whove
said theyd like to be able to do this from
the CV Mix
- Gain Switch needs the AJH
MiniMod VCF and VCA
would probably want to do this anyway, - V-Scale is a little fiddly
even though it will regrettably add 2HP
extra to the width of your system. This is a classy lineup of new
modules by any standard, which
should be of interest to all, but
The final rack up especially anyone with MiniMod
Whats particularly impressed me with modules already.
these modules is the fact that AJH
has listened to the requests of its
DUAL LFO + VCA 10/10
customers and made enhancements
and improvements that could not only
DH-ADSR ENVELOPE
10/10
reside in all Eurorack systems, but also
provide a healthy upgrade to some
CV MIXER/OFFSET/VCA
9/10
aspects of the existing AJH product
line. Granted, certain modules will not
V-SCALE VARIABLE
PRECISION MULTI 9/10
appeal to all but the Dual LFO and
DH-ADSR are outstanding modules for
GAIN SW MULTI
9/10
any system, and will feel right at home

MAGAZINE May 2017 | 93

MT170.REV AJH Modules.indd 93 03/04/2017 11:17

 MT Reviews AKG C7
AKG Choice
9/10
C7
AKG aims to bring studio-quality sound to the stage,
with this new C7 vocal hand-held condenser
microphone. Mike Hillier readies his vocal chords
R
ecreating your studio vocal
sound on stage can be tricky.
Studio condenser mics are
expensive, and arent built for
the rigours of the road. Their extra
sensitivity makes them prone to
feedback and the extra movement on
stage makes them liable to pick up
rumble, too, especially as they arent
intended to be held. Dynamic mics,
Details then, have ruled the roost on stages,
Manufacturer AKG particularly for vocalists who like to
Price 209 hold the mic rather than use a stand.
Contact
However, hand-held condensers, while
Sound Technology
01462 480000 rare, do offer vocalists the opportunity
Web www.akg.com to achieve more studio-like sound on
stage. These mics seek to deal with the
problems of feedback and rumble with
tight pickup patterns, filters and
built-in shockmounts.
Seventh heaven
The AKG C7 is aimed at live vocalists
looking for a step up from the dynamic
mic on stage. Like its sibling the C5, the
C7 is stylish, with a solid weighty feel
that inspires confidence. It comes with
an optional windshield, mic clip and a
tubular, soft, foam-lined zipbag.
The C7 houses a 3/4-inch condenser
capsule in a specially designed,
reflection-free open space, designed
to reduce air turbulence and inner
reflections inside the capsule to create
a consistent super-cardioid polar
pattern across the entire frequency
spectrum. This is important, as the
polar pattern of many mics is more
Key Features directional at high-frequencies than
Back-electret it is at low frequencies, colouring the
condenser capsule off-axis response.
Super-cardioid On our male tenor vocal, the C7
pickup pattern
captured a stunningly clean and natural
Built-in
high-pass filter representation of the voice. The bottom
end was tight and controlled; the mids
94 | May 2017 MAGAZINE
MT170.REV AKG C7.indd 94
open and the high-end smooth, with no
sibilance. Getting in close on the mic to
bring out the proximity effect enhances
the bottom-end but still manages to
sound clear, rather than muddy. So no
heavy-handed EQ is needed from the
console and we ended up adding a
touch of extra top-end shelf to bring out
a little more air around the vocal, plus a
little boost at 5kHz for presence.
Comparing the C7 to a standard
SM58 reveals a much more flat and
detailed response, although it doesnt
have quite the bottom-end of the SM58,
thanks to a built-in 12dB/octave 150Hz
high-pass filter. The SM58 has a nasal
quality around 2.5kHz that needed
notching out and a much more boomy
bottom-end, which required filtering on
the console as it doesnt have a filter
built-in. Even with this EQ, the
additional detail, especially through the
upper mids, brought clarity and depth
to the performance using the C7, and we
were able to get much more nuance
from our vocalist.
With an alto female vocalist, the C7
again performed admirably. Weve often
needed to heavily EQ the midrange on
this vocal, boosting around 800Hz and
pulling down a wide cut around 2 to
4kHz to get it to sit. But with the C7, the
vocal sat more easily in the mix. We
added a little 800Hz, but found no extra
cut was needed above this. Again, the
proximity effect added weight to the
vocal, and our vocalist could use this as
a technique to enhance certain phrases
in the performance, pushing into the
mic to enhance the feeling of intimacy.
Seven deadly sins
The AKG C7 is a wonderful-sounding
mic thats open, natural and detailed. If
your vocal mic isnt getting you close
enough to the studio sound you want in
your performances, then check the C7
out. It doesnt have quite the open top
end of a high-end studio mic, but it runs
some close. The built-in high-pass filter
isnt switchable, which reduces the
mics flexibility. 12dB/octave starting at
150Hz may seem a lot to remove from
the bottom end, but in use on vocals, it
sounds great and we didnt feel it was
lightweight. AKG has got this absolutely
right: its rare to need any frequencies
below this cut-off point. But if youre
hoping to use it on instruments, you
might need to choose them wisely.
However, just as condenser mics
arent always the right choice in the
studio, the C7 isnt going to work for
everything. The extra detail and smooth
frequency response will flatter some
vocals, but on others, it may reveal more
than intended, warts and all. The less
than hi-fi response of a dynamic mic is
often exactly what is required. MT
Alternatives
As well as the C7, AKG also has its C5
hand-held condenser, which is a similar
microphone with a cardioid polar pattern.
Neumann also builds hand-held condensers
and weve had some great results using our
KMS 105, particularly on female vocals.
MT Verdict
+ Solid build
+ Soft carry case
+ More open and detailed
than dynamic mics
- Fixed high-pass filter
- Wont suit every vocalist
Another wonderful-sounding
microphone from AKG. The C7
is open, natural and detailed.
9/10
03/04/2017 11:18
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 MT Reviews Arturia MatrixBrute

ARTURIA Choice

9/10
9
9/10
MatrixBrute
The much-anticipated MatrixBrute analogue synth
from Arturia has finally arrived. Dave Gale dials one
up to discover if its a utopian ideal, or a futuristic dream

I
Details t feels like an age ago now that cream in colour, and emblazoned with synth design, and doesnt detract in
Manufacturer Arturia Arturia announced its intentions for the Arturia legend. fact, it helpfully allows for the saving of
Price 1,659 the MatrixBrute, with some of us Minimoogs were always more patches since the information relating
(street price)
being tantalised by the odd glimpse understated than this, and theres also to the position of the pots is saved at
Contact
Source Distribution of one at music fairs. Now the wait is a plastic support strap, which prevents the patch level. What this does mean is
0208 962 5080 over, as production gets underway the support bracket from going too far. that when patches are recalled, the
Web
and although they are in very short Im not sure why this is deemed position of the pots will not immediately
www.arturia.com
supply, we are lucky enough to get hold necessary, but its there. be reflected on the panel, requiring the
of one to put through its paces.

Synth-head shopping list

This synth feels like a substantial piece
You can hardly miss the
Key Features
of work. The pots are pretty solid, and
the keyboard feels nice to play, with the
256-button matrix its a large
Full-size
49-note
analogue synth
exceptionally large 256-button matrix,
which you can hardly miss, forming a
part of the front of the panel
Monophonic, large part of the front of the panel. Its
dual and bedecked with lights, and glows with an So coming back to our synth-head user to tweak a pot past its save point
paraphonic
almost iridescent quality, changing wishlist, we can start to outline the to get it to spring to life. This is exactly
capability
Three oscillators according to its mode of operation. MatrixBrutes extraordinary feature set. how synths such as the Jupiter-8 used
Three full Theres a great feeling that Arturia There are three analogue oscillators; to work, and is a very small price to pay
ADSR envelopes asked every synth-head they could find two flavours of filter; three full ADSR for the ability to save up to 256 patches,
Two different what they would want in a mono synth, envelopes and two dedicated LFOs, all in non-volatile memory locations.
filters available
simultaneously and the first nod goes to the MiniMoog, of which are routable for the purposes
Huge matrix as the MatrixBrute front control panel of modulation. Although this synth is VCO a go-go
for modulation raises to various angles, just like the very much analogue in design, all the Starting with the oscillators, VCO 1 and
routings and
sequencing MiniMoog or Voyager. Whats possibly potentiometers fall into the realm of VCO 2 are identical in look and feel. In
less hip is the support bracket, which is digital control. This is nothing new in common with other Arturia hardware

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synths, the oscillators offer both a
primary and sub oscillator and multiple
simultaneous waveforms, each of
which offer a form of modulation, and
independent amplitude control. The
Saw is equipped with the ability to
Super Saw, the Square/Pulse offers
the ubiquitous Pulse Width Modulation,
while the final Triangle wave offers
the Metalizer. The latter is the most
The oscillators sound similar to
SEs Oscillation and not a million
milesfrom a Moog Voyager
sensible name for the effect it has on
the modulated wave, as it starts to
sound harsh and metallic in nature
through a form of wave-folding; its not
digital, but could almost be judging by
the glorious harmonic overtones that
emerge. In isolation, this sounds great
(albeit bright), but when backed up with
the simultaneous waves, its got weight
MT170.REV Arturia Matrix Brute.indd 99
and depth. The PWM goes right to the
edge, but not out of audio range, while
the Super Saw adds in an additional
two waves, to thicken the texture nicely.
Theres no crudity in the Super Saw,
as you sometimes hear on some other
Super Saw machines, but bear in mind
that crudity can be added at will, with
the addition of further oscillators. Were
still only listening to one.
Unlike other Arturia synth designs,
there doesnt appear to be any
overdriving within the oscillator section.
Theres opportunity to overdrive
elsewhere and I like how the designs
complexity is uncluttered and, with the
large fascia, its easy to work with.
Theres a sub oscillator on each VCO,
and heres where Arturia has made a
Arturia MatrixBrute Reviews MT
Left: The new significant improvement on its
Arturia MatrixBrute MiniBrute design, as the sub is
plenty of hands-on
functionality sweepable between Sine and Square
wave so theres no huge increase in
Above: The very
versatile and
level between the waves, as there was
comprehensive in switching on the MiniBrute. Its
oscillator section, comprehensive beyond all measure,
with two of everything
and a third switchable akin to a 101 on steroids!
oscillator, too VCO 3 is slightly different, sharing
duties between VCO 3 and LFO 3. VCO
mode is activated by pressing the
Keyboard Tracking button, and offers
just basic waves, with none of the
niceties of VCO 1 and 2, but it certainly
has the ability to heighten the signal
further if you feel you just dont have
enough to work with.
Finally, in the VCO section is a
selection of noises, on a dedicated
channel. Simply put, you have white,
pink, red and blue at your disposal. Its
possibly the most comprehensive noise
section Ive seen on a production synth,
certainly for a while.
And so to the sound of the basic
VCOs. They do sound pretty immense,
and even with just one VCO in play, the
options are so extensive youll have
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 99
05/04/2017 10:21
 MT Reviews Arturia MatrixBrute

plenty to work with. In keeping with Right: Take two filters

into the shower?
other Arturia hardware synths, they
Now I just mix and
sound very punchy. To my ears, the go Steiner and
oscillators sounded very similar to the Ladder filters, in
series or parallel
SE Oscillation, and not a million miles
from a Moog Voyager, either, so its a
good sonic pedigree. Pack in all three
VCOs and Moog-like leads and
earthshaking basses come to the fore.
I particularly liked the way that
oscillator tuning is handled. After the
ubiquitous warm-up period of just a
few minutes, tuning is pretty stable: but
if things wander too far, you can retune
the oscillators just as you did on the
80s machines, via a slightly curious
keypress of two buttons. Thankfully, the
display springs the word Tune into view
throughout the short duration of tuning,
which lasts just a few seconds. I know it
would have been yet another button on
an already busy fascia, but a nice Tune
button wouldve been far more obvious
and accessible, in common with older
machines that offered the same facility.
A little additional trick up the sleeve
of the Oscillator section is the Audio
Mod section which, at the very least,
allows for the modulation of oscillators,
and other elements such as the filter,
against each other. Even the most
slightly detuned oscillators can quickly
descend into something very dirty in
texture, so much so that the cones on
your speakers wont know which low
frequency to play next! Right next door filter to be a little bland, and not entirely go too far, and that could be because
to this is a dedicated VCO Sync button, Moog-like, which could be a tad unfair the excess is left to the next level of
which quickly allows VCO 2 to sync to of me, as its up against the colour of the distortion, which is the Brute Factor.
VCO 1. All those tones you would expect Steiner filter. The filters can, after all, be Apparently, there is a secret recipe at
immediately emanate, particularly if assigned in either series or parallel, and play with the Brute Factor and certainly
some pitch modulation of VCO 2 is right in the centre of the filter section is its helpful to have the bottom end slot
bought into play. a Master Cutoff pot, which will control back into place, with excessive

VCFs
Moving to the filters, there is a choice of
two filters, in two flavours. Deciding The Ladder filter is useful, but
how (and which) of the VCOs are in play
is as simple as pressing a small button up against a Moog filter, lacked
next to each oscillator, that illuminates
one of two lights, indicating routing. The the finesse and smoothness
options are to one or the other, or both.
The filters themselves are both
analogue: either Steiner-based or the cutoff of both filters, in unison. Both resonance. I found anything above
Ladder-based. Ive always really liked filters offer Low Pass, High Pass and around 60 per cent of Brute Factor just
the Steiner filter that Arturia have Band Pass modes: the Steiner also seemed to turn my raw signal into
championed to date, as its got some offers a Notch mode and all are something exceptionally aggressive; it
character. Sure enough, theres a available in 12dB or 24dB flavours. almost seemed to become a lower
certain fuzziness in sweeping, and I also mentioned earlier that frequency set of pulses. Maybe the
the resonance will really go sinusoidal overdrive was lacking from the VCO Brute Factor has been fed too many
if thats what you want. The more section. Thats because youll find it in steroids in this machine: but either way,
conventional Ladder design offers a the filter section, again in two flavours. in the lower ranges, it can have its uses.
beautiful wispiness in the top end, The Overdrive is really lovely to use; its In play, I was largely drawn to the
which is missing from the Steiner. subtle, but if you apply some filter Steiner filter more than the Ladder
For me, theres less character here; resonance, youll hear some really tasty design, but this might just be because
I found the resonance on the ladder 303-style tones immediately. It doesnt its something different. Im very familiar

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with this design, from the other Arturia
hardware synths, which may well be
why I was so drawn to it. The Ladder
filter is useful, but when placed up
against a Moog filter, lacked the finesse
I was easily punching in
modulations within seconds of
moving to the matrix section
and smoothness, especially in the
resonance. Like the Brute Factor,
I found the Ladder resonance to be
a little on or off, but Im being highly
critical here and making comparisons
with the best of filters available
and the Steiner is one.
MT170.REV Arturia Matrix Brute.indd 101
One particular pot is curiously
absent and thats keyboard tracking.
If this is required, youll need to access
it via the matrix, which well come to
later. But once invoked, tracking is
available, albeit a bit inaccurate across
more than two octaves another sign
of the Brutes analogue nature.
Envelopes and LFOs
Theres plenty of everything on this
machine and, sure enough, the story
Arturia MatrixBrute Reviews MT
continues in the Envelope section,
where there are three full ADSR
Envelopes, in a fader-based design.
By default, Envelope 1 is directed
toward the filter cutoff, with the
amount controlled independently,
via a pot on both filter stages, while
Envelope 2 is set to the default of
amplitude. Both envelopes have an
additional fader which is linked to the
velocity amount, allowing for easy
control, or the ability to quickly disable.
Envelope 3 is assignable, and has a very
useful Delay fader. This enables the
start of the envelope trigger to be
delayed, from the point of playing to the
start of the attack phase. This is a really
useful option, even for the most
mundane of duties such as controlling
filter cutoff. Phases are timed between
two miliseconds and 10 seconds,
across all envelope phases, with the
obvious exception of Sustain.
There are two dedicated LFOs,
with a third switchable between the
aforementioned VCO3/LFO3
configuration, and here, youll find a
comprehensive choice of all your usual
favourites, from Sine and Triangle to
Saw Ramps in both directions and
Random/Random with Glide. Both
LFOs allow for syncing to the sequencer
section: however, LFO 1 also offers a
phase control, so that the start of the
cycle can be shifted between beats and
timing points. LFO 2, on the other hand,
offers a more conventional Delay
control. Both dedicated LFOs also have
a Retrig function, which can also be
clocked to the internal sequencer.
LFO3 (which is switchable with VCO
3) is more basic, but does offer a clock
button, for straight clock divisions. As
youd expect, switching between modes,
Above: The sequencer the LFO 3 goes well up into audio range
section is beside debatably not necessary for a third
the matrix, right
where you want it LFO, but its nice to have the choice.
Entering the matrix
With all these enticing elements which
are ripe for modulation, its time to turn
our attentions to the factor which is
likely to be for many, the main event
and is also where the MatrixBrute gets
its moniker.
Taking up about a third of the whole
panel fascia is the matrix. There are a
bewildering 256 buttons to be pressed.
The Matrix has three reasons to exist.
Firstly, it represents an easy way to
access the 256 memory locations to
recall patches, which although pretty
perfunctory is quick and useful.
Secondly, its linked in with the
sequencer section, which well come
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 101
05/04/2017 10:21
 MT Reviews Arturia MatrixBrute

back to later. But given that weve

discussed so many of the features
adorning the panel, lets start by
discussing the virtues of using the
matrix for routing modulations.
This is pretty comprehensive, but
its not a new idea, either. Possibly the
most famous machine to implement a
programming matrix of this kind is the
VCS 3, produced by EMS, from 1969.
Back then, it was groundbreaking, and
signals were routed via pins which were
stuck into place, using an X-Y matrix to
dictate which signal was being sent to
where. With the MatrixBrute, we get a
more updated form, thanks to underlit
buttons, offering a level of control.
In use, its as easy as selecting your
chosen modulation source which
could be the usual suspects such as
envelopes, LFOs, or even velocity and
aftertouch and pressing the button
where the source crosses with the
destination. Modulations that are in use
will illuminate in blue, as you could well
have several modulations in play
simultaneously. Selecting any of the
modulations will illuminate the button
in purple, and invite the user to dial in
the amount of modulation, via the large
pot which is above the matrix. It will
accept both positive and negative
polarities, and the dial is surrounded by
lights to indicate the amount; but if you
would rather work with numbers, the
patch number display will offer
-99 to +99 for greater accuracy. Its a
beautifully elegant way of working and
I was punching in modulations both
easily and quickly within seconds of
moving to the matrix section.
It doesnt end there, though, as four
of the modulation destinations are up
for grabs and programmable. I did have
a head-scratching moment at this
point, as I tried to work out how to Above: Four Macro matrix section, but it does have a Referring back to the patch
controls, right in the
implement this function. But having couple of curious traits. Theres an selection, either via the matrix or
performance section,
read the manual, I discovered that along with pitch and accompanying LCD display located just through the Preset section (which does
it was as simple as pressing the mod wheels, and a above the grid and its primary purpose the same job), you will also find that
very long glide time
corresponding assignment button, is to provide visual confirmation of the when switching patches, itll take a
at the top of the row, and moving the four user-definable routings. When second or so for the patch to spring into
pot or fader I wished to send my routings are assigned, the LCD goes life, and more worryingly, I found there
assignment to. The purpose here is to through a two-second flashing cycle as would often be quite loud clicks and
open up any of the synth to modulation, it redraws and the routing is put into pops emanating from the main outputs.
which can include things like LFO place. I suspect this is down to the This could be a major issue for some,
speed, which is often one modulation complexities of saving and routing a especially if you intend to use it live. The
too far on many synths. I have to say, patch from the computer-controlled idea of those loud clicks and pops being
this really is where the power lies, as panel, but it feels a little disconcerting. amplified in a venue isnt going to go
the modulation possibilities are so The same panel also seems to have a down well, so it would be fair to say that
complex, it opens up the sort of options beating heart, as the LCD remains if you need to pull up patches quickly
that are exclusive to either Virtual illuminated even when the power is and silently, perhaps playing live, you
Analogue machines, either in hardware disconnected from the synth. I imagine might have some issues. These matters
or software form, or to modular but this has to do with the battery powered, should be resolved through firmware
without all the patch cables. I am non-volatile memory. I thought this was updates, but I cant imagine the patch
completely sold on the concept of the an overlay sticker, for display purposes! recall speed will be radically improved,

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as Id think that for the most part, this
is down to the speed of the internal
processor chip onboard.
Sequencer and arpeggiator
The third element to the matrix is
related to the sequencer, which glows
red once the large sequencer button is
pressed, switching the matrix over to
four rows of 16 and allowing up to 64
steps of programming. This takes place
in either step or real time, with editing
Theres a Sync input and
output, allowing sync to other
analogue clock-based devices
available after a pass. Its not just
restricted to notes, either, as sequential
duties can also be deployed to
modulation sources. I also found the
clocking and re-triggering from the
LFOs to be very good here and, like
many other modern synths, I found no
hint of lag as I played sequencer-based
patches. Its always nice to be able to
MT170.REV Arturia Matrix Brute.indd 103
play a sequencer so it can be manually
transposed with any harmonic
movement in a track, as you can here.
Sequences are saved either as patterns
or as part of a programmed patch,
meaning that it will immediately appear
once that patch is called up.
Thanks to the dedicated sequencer
section, with its whole raft of controls
and settings, its pretty easy and useful
to gain access to most of the elements
that you need to operate the sequencer.
Of course, the boon of the matrix is a
given here, but it does surprisingly take
a few minutes to get your head around
how this works, especially when
relating what you play in real time to
the information being displayed. As I
discovered, as more than one line will
often illuminate to indicate additional
information such as mod and slide.
DISCOVER MORE
rslawards.com/music-production
Arturia MatrixBrute Reviews MT
Alternatives
There has never been a better time to consider purchasing an analogue
synth, with so may competitors vying for your hard-earned cash. At
a street price of 1,659, the MatrixBrute is not cheap, so the draw of
something with Moog written on the back, for far less, could be very
alluring indeed. The Moog Sub 37 will cost you a couple of hundred less,
and has become something of a classic in the last year or so. The Moog
build quality is legendary, as is the sound, which will not disappoint. With
the demise of the Moog Voyager in favour of the reboot of the MiniMoog,
there are secondhand Voyagers out there for similar money to the
MatrixBrute and again, these are synths that are built like tanks and
will last for years, if cared for. Outside of Moog, theres Rolands System-8
(reviewed MT167) its not analogue, but youd never know it, and will
give you the best of everything. Its a Jupiter-8 and Juno-106 right out of
the box, and will allow for the inclusion of other Roland mono classics,
such as the SH-101, and one of my faves, the SH-2. Youll also get a couple
of hundred pounds of change from the Matrix, yet again. And possibly the
analogue thats giving everything a run for its money at the moment is the
Behringer DM12 (reviewed in MT168). Costing just 1,000 and with a full
three-year warranty, this is a 12-note poly with a unison mode, stacking
up all 24 oscillators. That will give the Matrix a huge run for its money on
sound, and offer you a full 12-note poly mode, too. Its also got a very nice
iPad app to go with it that assists with programming.
Talking of which, it can go all 303 if
desired, thanks to the comprehensive
addition of both Accent and Slide. There
are also numerous other parameters,
in line with the likes of the Beatstep Pro,
such as the ability to switch direction
and go random, and clocking options,
most notably over MIDI and via a
dedicated Sync input.
Alongside the sequencer, and
located in the same section, is the
05/04/2017 10:21
 MT Reviews Arturia MatrixBrute

arpeggiator, which can either operate Right: Playing nicely

as a regular standard arpeggiator, with a Eurorack Skiff,
the MatrixBrute
offering the basic series of Up, Down sends CVs in and out,
and Random type patterns, or can be for all eventualities
linked in with the matrix. In this mode,
Below: Some very
the concept is that you can play up to comprehensive
four notes and dictate both rhythm and routing of the
Matrix, but these
octave, over a three-octave range. routings feel a little
Its sequencer-like in operation bit subliminal!
and is an effective extension of the
arpeggiator philosophy, which is more
akin to the sort of thing youd expect to
find on a soft synth.

Get connected
Moving to the rear of the MatrixBrute,
were confronted by a bewildering array
of sockets, in all forms, with very helpful
legends so you can read what youre
doing from both above and below the
synth. Firstly, theres the MIDI side of the
synth, which is handled via the usual
USB and MIDI socket configuration, but
then theres the selection of 12 CV
inputs and 12 CV outputs (13, if you
include the gate sockets), which will
allow the user access to all the
essential parts of the MatrixBrute.
These enable connection to the
Eurorack world and other 3.5mm-
equipped devices, such as other Arturia
products plus the likes of Korgs Volca
and Rolands Boutique lines.
Its comprehensive and could be
desirable for any Eurorack owner just to This isnt cheap we currently
have a nice keyboard and sequencer,
which is in common with other current have the pick of so many great
Goliaths, such as the Roland System-8.
Theres also an audio input, which will analogue and VA synths
bring the signal right into the heart of
the synth, alongside the oscillators, as if external device for processing. This is possibly not being generous enough,
your signal is going to need any further through an insert/Y-type cable, so youll as I discovered over time. What we
fattening, with all that oscillator action need to have one of these handy for this have here, in my view, is a damn good
onboard, but its a nice touch! area of functionality. Its worth attempt at making a mono synth which
With another nod to the current mentioning here that at the back end of has the flexibility in programming of
crop, theres a Sync input and output, the signal chain theres a clutch of both a modular and a soft synth, but
allowing sync to other analogue effects, with useful controls for each with the wonderful hardware control
clock-based devices. This is switchable setting. On offer are mono/stereo delay, that we all yearn for. If you then add into
from one pulse per note, to 24PPQN and chorus/flanger and reverb, the delays the equation the raft of hitherto
48PPQN, which should allow settings being syncable to the overall tempo of unmentioned performance controls, in
that are most useful for all. Alongside a any sequence. Finally, theres a stereo the shape of dual and paraphonic
crop of sustain and expression-pedal audio output, which is largely there to capability, pitch and mod wheels and a
inputs, there is also an insert loop, give space to the effects. Lest we forget, set of four keyboard macros, youve got
allowing the user to come out to an this is a mono synth, so anything a pretty cool live machine, as well as
further wouldnt really be required. something which is perfect for studio
use, thanks to its vast programmability.
Brute force I do get a sense that business is yet
If you were to draw up a list of devices to be concluded, though. The audible
youd like on a synthesiser, you could pops when changing patch will be an
end up with a very long list. My issue for live users, and I had a couple
overwhelming feeling is that the of moments when its behaviour wasnt
MatrixBrute has tried to implement as quite as expected, but then theres a lot
many wants from the list as possible. going on under the hood. I also
Does it do this successfully? Well, for managed to get some interesting
the most part, yes in fact, thats stepping in the oscillator section when

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in sync mode, which seemed a little
unusual. Not sure if this is due to the OS
or the association between oscillators,
but it was there nonetheless.
So the golden question is, would
you buy one? Its undoubtedly very,
very powerful, but my sense is that it
overplays the Brute aspect a little too
heavily. If I had to apply an adjective to
this, I would call it gnarly and Im not
being derogatory here. It can certainly
play a softer palette of timbre, but I
dont feel that this is the strength of this
machine. So if you want something
more garish, then youre very firmly in
luck but for me, it just lacks the
subtlety of something like a Moog, and
why do I mention Moog at this point?
Well, largely because of the price.
This is not a cheap synthesiser, and
we are currently in a golden age of
having the pick of so many great
analogue and Virtual Analogue synths.
With the exception of a couple of very
high-end synths, this is the current
winner on the high-price-tag front, so
I think the burning question is whether
you like the MatrixBrute enough to
spend that much on a mono synth. I feel
that in a marketplace thats becoming
Join our growing membership
of professional musicians.
Make us your ISM.
MT170.REV Arturia Matrix Brute.indd 105
Arturia MatrixBrute Reviews MT
crowded, the Arturia might shout the hear this before you think about buying
loudest, but might not always be heard. one, but theres no doubt that with this
Putting the cost to one side, this is a level of programmability, youll need
pretty outstanding bit of synth design. some time to really get your head
Theres an awful lot on offer here and, around its full potential. On this front, I
unlike its competitors, is has the draw like it immensely, as we could all use a
of the matrix, which is very helpful synth which we have to learn to use like
indeed, especially when routing an organic instrument. MT
modulations. I do like the fact that it has
a very quirky feel and sound, which is MT Verdict
largely down to the Steiner filter and
+ Excellent-sounding synthesiser
extensive oscillator section, and in an + The Steiner filter is lovely
age when many synths are almost and quirky
clone-like, you have to applaud Arturia + Very, very programmable
for being so brave and actually offering + The Matrix is exceptionally useful
for routings
something different.
+ Very comprehensive throughout
It can happily reside next to other plenty of everything
classics, but is perhaps competing in a + Nice design
different arena. Of course, you need to + Usable in so many settings
+ Very patchable with other
analogues/Eurorack
Do I really need this?
It is a mono synth and if you like monosynths, as I do, then youll - Its expensive
definitely want to take a look. If you have a small Eurorack setup, the - The OS still needs some work
chances are you could implement this into your workflow quite nicely,
- Popping when switching patches
as it offers not just sounds, but a wealth of connectivity, both to your
Eurorack and also your DAW. Its an expensive mono, but if you weigh it
up in the context of Eurorack, it stands up very well. There is an argument This is a great-sounding and very
that you could do without a Euro-based sequencer and MIDI interface powerful beast of a synth, which
using the MatrixBrute instead could be worth a few-hundred-quids is exceptionally comprehensive
saving. The MatrixBrute does obviously offer plenty of live potential, but in just about all areas.
it is also an analogue synth and feels like one when you pick it up. Its
heavy at 20kg, heavier than some 88-note, fully weighted keyboards. 9/10
My ISM is
Ed Scolding
Composer
ISM member since 2011
10% off
membership.
Use promo code TECH17
or TECH17G (graduate
membership).
@ ISM_Music
facebook.com/ISMusicians
ism.org
05/04/2017 10:21
 MT Reviews Focusrite Red 8Pre

FOCUSRITE Excellence

10/10
Red 8Pre
The Focusrite Red range just got bigger.
Mike Hillier discovers if bigger is indeed better

T
Details here are a lot of interfaces in The use of a D-Sub connector for instant recall of settings, and ensures
Manufacturer the Focusrite range, but when the eight mic preamp inputs means you identical performance when using
Focusrite it was first launched, the will need a breakout cable or patchbay matched stereo pairs for a perfect
Price 3,200
Focusrite Red 4Pre was the to get into the Red 8Pre. We had a spare stereo capture.
Contact Focusrite
Web
king of the pile. Focusrite really did try D-Sub to XLR cable to hand, but would We tracked a full drum kit with the
www.focusrite.com to squeeze in everything into it, with probably recommend wiring up an Red 8Pre, using all eight mics inputs for
Minimum system Dante, DigiLink and Thunderbolt XLR patchbay for a more permanent kick, snare top and bottom, hi-hat,
requirements
connectivity, alongside analogue, ADAT, installation. The main stereo outputs stereo overhead and stereo room, and
Mac Thunderbolt-
equipped Mac, OS X and S/PDIF I/O. But the 4Pre has now remain on TRS connectors, ensuring were very impressed not only with the
10.9 or higher been usurped, because Focusrite has
launched a new interface with even
more interfacing options: the Red 8Pre.
We tracked a full drum kit
Twice as much of the good
stuff, then using all eight mic inputs and
Visually, the Red 8Pre looks almost
identical to the 4Pre: the stylish red
were very impressed
polished aluminium fascia houses two
hi-Z 1/4-inch instrument inputs and easy connection to your monitors or clarity of the capture, but the amount of
Key Features two independent 1/4-inch headphone monitor controller. weight and punch in the kick and snare.
2 hi-Z instrument outputs, just as it does on the 4Pre. The For the overheads, we engaged the
inputs
only obvious difference from the front Tracking king Air mode on the Red 8Pre, which
8 mic preamps
panel is the existence of four more As with the Red 4Pre, the Red 8Pre switches the microphone impedance
16 analogue
inputs buttons on the left for switching uses Focusrites flagship Red Evolution down to 2.1kOhms and also adds a
18 analogue between mic inputs. Turn the unit preamps and parallel path summing midrange boost aimed to emulate a
outputs
around and the difference becomes convertors, which deliver incredibly transformer-based mic preamp, such
2 independent
headphone more clear. Gone are the four XLR mic low-noise performance whether youre as those in Focusrites ISA range.
outputs inputs, replaced with a D-Sub using the mic preamps, hi-Z instrument Despite this being only an emulation,
16x16 ADAT I/O connector catering for eight channels of inputs or simply the line-level inputs. the results were fantastic.
S/PDIF I/O mic inputs and additional line-level I/O, The mic preamps in particular do not The gentle lift through the midrange
Word Clock I/O
also on D-Sub connectors, bringing the disappoint. They are digitally controlled, gave the overheads a greater sense of
Loop Sync I/O
Thunderbolt, total analogue I/O count up from eight either from the buttons and encoder on energy, and meant that we needed less
Dante and by 10 to a more substantial 16 x 18 on the front panel, or using the supplied of the close snare mic in our final mix,
DigiLink the Red 8Pre. The digital I/O options Focusrite Control Software on your to get us the snap that we felt the track
interfacing
remain the same on both units. Mac. Using the software enables required. After more experimentation

106 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

MT170.REV Focusrite.indd 106 05/04/2017 10:57


using this mode with vocals and electric
guitar, we think the Air mode may well
become many engineers default setting
when using the Red 8Pre, switching it
off only when a more clinically accurate
response, or a little extra low-end is the
order of the day.
In Air mode the results were
fantastic and it may well become
the engineers default setting
Studio centrepiece
The Red 8Pre has everything youd need
to centre your studio around. Two
headphone ports, dedicated stereo
master outputs, plus a further 16
MT170.REV Focusrite.indd 107
analogue I/O, eight mic preamps, two
hi-Z inputs, but most importantly, it
doesnt end there. The digital side of the
Red 8Pre, while a straight clone of that
on the Red 4Pre, provides considerable
extra I/O options, including ADAT, S/
PDIF and Dante. We had a Focusrite
Scarlett OctoPre Dynamic on loan with
our Red 8Pre, which brought a further
eight mic preamps, this time with
built-in dynamics to our rig, for a total of
16 mic inputs, at 96kHz. At 44 or 48kHz
Focusrite Red 8Pre Reviews MT
More i/o options than you could even add a second OctoPre
pretty much anything for a huge 24 mic inputs in only 3U of
else out there
rackspace (the ADAT protocol itself
can only handle 4 channels per port
at 88/96kHz, so we needed two ADAT
cables to run a single OctoPre at
96kHz). And with integration all built in,
for use with ThunderBolt, DigiLink or
Dante-equipped Macs, the Red 8Pre is
perfectly positioned for any studio
upgrade. Focusrite will even include a
free Pro Tools HD DigiLink I/O licence for
Red 8Pre customers. MT
Alternatives
While there arent any other interfaces out
there with quite the breadth of I/O options as
the Red 8Pre, there are plenty of interfaces
with Thunderbolt connectivity and similar
analogue I/O features. Among the most
Pricey and Mac popular is the Universal Audio Apollo range.
only, but its still a The Apollo 8P only has eight channels of
maximum score analogue I/O, but all eight inputs come with
mic preamps capable of using Universal
Audios unique Unison technology which, like
the Air technology in the Red 8Pre, changes
not only the frequency response but also
the input impedance. However, the Unison
technology can be used to match many
different preamps with the UAD emulation.
MT Verdict
+ Covers almost all
interfacing scenarios
+ Eight superb preamps
+ Considerable analogue I/O
channel count
+ Only 1U
- Mac only
- With so many features, some may
never get used
An absolutely incredible interface,
which ensures connection
possibilities for almost all
conceivable analogue and
digital needs.
10/10
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 107
05/04/2017 10:57
 ABLETON LIVE 2017

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 Mini Reviews MT

UK Garage Acoustic Drum

and 2 Step Workshop Key Features
521 acoustic
drum hits by
Publisher Loopmasters Features Matt Butlin
2-Step and Publisher Loopmasters Snares, kicks,
Price 29.95 garage loops and cymbals, toms
hits by Scott Diaz
Price 17.95
Contact info@loopmasters.com 240MB of
603MB worth Contact info@loopmasters.com 24-bit audio
Web www.loopmasters.com of 24-bit audio 21 Sampler
302 loops, Web www.loopmasters.com patches for NN-XT,

L I
250+ hits, and HALion, Kontakt,
oopmasters and garage 62 MIDI files f youre tired of the same old
specialist Scott Diaz have
Choice 46 Sampler acoustic drum sounds in your
EXS24 and SFZ
Up to three

crafted a new library of
dancefloor sounds,
suitable for 2-step, house, speed
garage, breaks and more. The pack
features 573 loops and one-shots
in your choice of formats, plus 46
sampler patches in a range of
formats. As youd expect from the
style, everything is upfront, with
very little processing so that it has
maximum impact in the club.
Youll find tight 2-Step beats and
shuffles; melodic, speaker-rattling
basslines; rhythmic keys, stabs,
and plucked instruments; and
9/10
9
9/10
patches for NNXT,
HALion, SFZ,
Kontakt and EXS24
130 to 135 BPM
awards for sound design and
originality, the programming of the
grooves and intricate rhythmic
edits are superb, making the 62
bass and instrument MIDI files an
especially welcome addition. MT
MT Verdict
A simple sounding but
well-rounded pack with strong
grooves and usable loops and
hits throughout.
DAW, then you might want to
check out Acoustic Drum
Workshop from Loopmasters,
which sees session drummer Matt
Butlin delve into his massive
collection of instruments for a
library of 521 drum one-shots.
There are plenty of different-
sounding hits here, including 30
snares (jungle, maple, brass,
acrylic, stone); 10 cymbals (bells,
chinas, hats, rides, crashes and
splashes); live and processed kick
drums and more. Everything has
been recorded through high
velocity layers
lack of deep velocity sampling
makes nuanced performing
difficult. Also, although the
processed kicks sound fat, theyre
covered in reverb, which limits
options when mixing. MT
MT Verdict
Lacking the depth of
dedicated drum instruments,
but a good-value collection of
interesting, raw and vibrant
sounding drum-hit samples
for the price.

7/10
chopped and processed vocals, quality mics and Neve preamps.
plus a decent collection of one-shot
sounds. While its not going to win
9/10 There are also 21 sampler patches
to help with programming, but a

Maschine Hip Hop and uBeat Bundle

Trap Design Publisher Umlaut Audio
Price $199 (also available
Publisher Producertech separately for $99 each)
Price 14.95 Contact via website
Key Features
Elektro, Hip-Hop
Contact via website Web www.umlautaudio.com and Hybrid drum
Web www.producertech.com instruments for

T
Kontakt
he uBeat Bundle from

T
1.03GB of
his new beat-production Features Umlaut Audio consists of uncompressed
Drum-sound audio, 960+ sounds
course from Producertech Elektro, Hip-Hop and
design by Capsun 45 preset kits and
and Capsun aims to move Stream online Hybrid drum instruments
90 MIDI patterns
beyond simply using 16 Chapters, that load into Kontakt or the free per instrument
sample packs for your drums, with over 90 minutes Kontakt player and each contains Eight FX chains
16 chapters looking at crafting trap Includes 45 preset kits and 90, 8-bar long with flexible

and hip-hop beats using Maschine.

Maschine projects
MIDI patterns. There are over 960
Choice routing, plus global

Initial chapters focus on layering up
sounds to create more live
sounding hits, and also at using
Maschines synth engine to build
tighter, electronic sounds. Capsun
then brings everything together by
building a kit and programming a
full beat. Youll need a basic
understanding of the Maschine
workflow, as things move fairly
quickly, but the views of both the
Maschine software and hardware
make it easy to follow. You also get
the Maschine Projects and kits, and
100MB of free sample hits and
100MB of
free sample hits
and loops
loops. The only thing we felt
missing was some tips on creating
some nice, rolling trap hi-hats. MT
MT Verdict
A great, focused course for
anyone looking to move away
from sample packs and create
their own hip-hop drum kits
in Maschine.
8/10
9/10
9
9/10
and send FX
drum, percussion and FX hits Requires
that include a broad mix of hard, Kontakt/Free
Kontakt Player
electronic sounds and processed, 5.5.2 or higher
more live-sounding hits. The clear
GUI offers plenty of tweakability, you can only trigger one
with a main page for selecting and MIDI pattern at a time from
editing samples, a more the keyboard. MT
traditional mixer page with eight
channels and an extensive FX MT Verdict
page where you can route eight FX
A large, high-quality library of
chains plus master and send FX. drum sounds suitable for a
You can also load your own MIDI range of genres, with a flexible
patterns, and can easily drag and GUI and FX system.
drop preset patterns into your
DAW. Our only minor gripe is that
9/10
MAGAZINE May 2017 | 109

MT170.REV minisAH.indd 109 03/04/2017 11:19

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 Six of the best Buyers Guide MT

Six of the best

Hardware Software Mobile Technology Samples
Welcome to the MusicTech Buyers Guide, where we round up
some of the best products recently reviewed in the magazine.
This month, six of the best microphones for a range of studio
tasks and, of course, budgets

A
BEST All-rounder ston burst onto the
microphone scene a few

Aston years back with the Origin

microphone. This follow-up
boasts the rugged tumbled-steel, with

Spirit
the same wave-form mesh head which
gives the Aston mics their unique
aesthetic. The Spirit is a large
diaphragm condenser microphone that
we found worked exceptionally well on
an array of instruments, drums and
vocals. In fact, we said: It performed Details
well at just about everything we threw Price
it on, matching and even outperforming 417
Contact Shure UK
some much more expensive 01992 703058
microphones in the process. If you Web
already have a few mics and are just www.shure.co.uk
Details looking to expand your selection, the
Price 299 Spirit is virtually a must-have. It
Contact
performs well enough to add to any mic
Sonic Distribution
Tel 0845 500 2 500 locker, and is also inexpensive enough
to demand your attention. We
Web
www.astonmics.com concluded: Aston Microphones has BEST For vocals

Shure
brought the Spirit back into British
microphone manufacturing.

BEST Value

RDE KSM8
T
he KSM8 is a Dualdyne

NTR
microphone that attempts to
eliminate a couple of niggles
which are inherent with Shures
classic SM58 vocal microphone; and

I
f Darth Vader ever needed a vocal mic, the it largely succeeds in outdoing and
NTR would surely win out on looks alone, Details outperforming Shures ubiquitous
Huw Price said when reviewing the RDE Price 589 stalwart. We were able to add a subtle
NTR. Fortunately, this ribbon mic sounds Contact Source air boost without any hint of the nasal
as good as it looks. The RDEs noise Distribution edge that is present in the SM58. We
020 8962 5080
floor is so low that recording acoustic Web
also noticed that we were able to get
instruments and quiet singers presents no www.rode.com more gain. The KSM8 cut through in our
difficulties. Vocal tests revealed extremely mix nicely, ensuring everyone in the
smooth and natural results. We were audience could make out all of the lyrics
astonished by the NTRs RRP. In fact, if it had throughout the performance. We
been significantly higher, we wouldnt have concluded: With the KSM8 battling for
been unduly concerned. Huw concluded: your attention, you owe it to your voice
A very high quality, old-school ribbon to at least give it a try. Looking to
microphone with outstanding build quality upgrade from an SM58? Put the KSM8
and an extremely attractive price. on your list.

MAGAZINE May 2017 | 111

MT170.6OTB microphones.indd 111 03/04/2017 11:14

 MT Buyers Guide Six of the best

BEST Polar versatility

Lewitt LCT 640 TS

W
hat if you could change
your mind on which polar
pattern you used on a
recording after the band
Details
has gone home? Or even in the mix?
Price 879
Contact Lewitt
Lewitts LCT 640 TS microphone
or JHS: features a unique Dual Output mode,
01132 865 381 which enables you to do exactly that.
Web
The microphone uses a second output
www.jhs.co.uk
on the side of the body to enable you to
record the front and rear diaphragms to
separate channels, so you can select
between them later. We said: If you
enjoy experimenting with recordings,
this microphone would be an excellent
addition to your arsenal. Furthermore, if
you are looking to invest in your first
multi-pattern condenser, this is a
great-sounding microphone and an
interesting option for your cabinet.

What if you could change your mind

on which polar pattern you use on
a recording after the band has
left the studio?
Details
BEST Budget
Price 60
Contact Focusrite

sE Electronics V3
01494 462246
Web www.
seelectronics.com

T
he sE V3 is one of two new
dynamic mics from the
Chinese manufacturer (the
other being the V7, which costs
25 more). Despite being the cheaper of
the two, we actually preferred the V3 on
the vocal recordings we made. The
proximity effect was less pronounced
with this microphone than the V7 and
the extra presence helped to hype the
vocal in a musical manner. For live
vocals, the V3 is going to make a great
alternative to the Shure SM58. Not only
does the presence give it an extra shine,
but it looks great to boot. We concluded
on both mics in the V range: Dont be
fooled by the inexpensive price tags,
these stylish-looking microphones are
a serious option for vocal recording
and are well worth auditioning.

BEST For guitars Details

Price 249

Audio-Technica AE2300
Contact
Audio-Technica
0113 277 1441
Web

T
www.audio-
he AE2300 has been voiced as a open chords. It produced a much more technica.com

more flexible instrument mic,
and specifically for guitar
cabinets, brass and percussion.
In our tests, we certainly concluded
that its a great mic for guitars and
outperformed two other mics we lined it
up against. The AE2300 had a stronger
low end, capturing the growl of big,
focused tone, with less fizz, but still a
brighter, more airy sound. The AE2300 is
particularly versatile, and the addition
of the switchable low-pass roll off
makes it a perfect candidate for guitar
cabinets. We concluded: The AE2300
has the makings of a modern classic
and is a bit of a bargain, too. MT

112 May 2017 MAGAZINE

MT170.6OTB microphones.indd 112 03/04/2017 11:14

 ON SALE NOW!
OM
AVAIL ABLE FR

AND SELECTED
RECORD
INDEPENDENT
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SHOPS. AVAIL
STORES
IN SELECTED
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OVERSEAS, TO

FROM THE MAKERS OF

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MT170.Flannel panel.indd 113 06/04/2017 13:00

 MT Your Disc

DVD170 4GB+ PC&Mac Digital

YourDVD
subscriber?
Dow nload your DVD
from MusicTech.ne
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//FREE SAMPLES
LOOPS & HITS//ROYALTY FREE
Q692LOD

//THE LOOP LOFT DRUM STEMS //LATIN MIDI PIANO LOOPS

Size 669MB Format 24-bit/48kHz, 24-bit/96kHz AIFF
This month, weve got some exceptionally high-quality live
drum loops from The Loop Loft for you to use in your productions.
Performed by drummers Mark Guiliana, Matt Chamberlain and Omar
Hakim, youll find rock, funk, reggae and more ranging from 84 to 148
BPM in stereo AIFF format. Also, for all the control freaks out there,
there are the 96kHz multitrack stems with up to 15 channels of audio
to give you endless options to process. Web www.thelooploft.com
Size 41KB Format MIDI
Spring has sprung and its time to get in the mood with this
exclusive selection of 28 live-played piano montunos in MIDI format
for creating a wide variety of Latin music such as Salsa, Merengue,
Afro Cuban and Mambo. The pack has been created at 194 BPM by
producer and keyboard player Dave Bradshaw Jr. and comes in MIDI
format, so you can assign your favourite synth or sampler and edit as
you see fit. Web www.equinoxsounds.com

//UK GARAGE, SOULFUL VOCALS & MORE

Size 317MB Format 24-bit/44kHz WAV
Weve got another bundle of royalty-free loops from Loopmasters for you to dissect, including
grooving beats and basslines taken from UK Garage and 2-Step and some unique and raw one-shots from
Acoustic Drum Workshop. Youll also find rolling hats and lush synths from Deep Trap, moody riffs from
Drum & Bass Liquidism and beautiful live strings from String Rhapsody. To round things off, weve got a
collection of soulful vocals in a range of BPMs taken from Riya Vocal Acapellas. Use the code
MUSICTECH10 for an exclusive discount. Web www.loopmasters.com

//VIDEO TUTORIALS
VIDEO FEATURE//30+MINS
//CAPSUN MASCHINE BEATS
& SEPPA ABLETON PATCH DESIGN
Size 314MB Format MP4
Top artist programming tips from Producertechs new courses.
There are two chapters taken from Maschine Hip Hop and Trap Beat
Design with producer Capsun looking at beat programming, plus two
videos from Seppas new Patch Sound Design In Ableton Live course,
which look at crafting bass sounds with the Analog and Operator
instruments. Weve also included trailers for each course, so you can
get a better idea of whats on offer. Web www.producertech.com
VIDEO FEATURE//90+ MINS
//PRINCE FATTY DUB FX TIPS,
AUSTEN/SCOTT TRACK BREAKDOWN
Size 732MB Format MP4
Point Blank Music School has provided three videos, starting
with an interview with Austen/Scott, who talk through their track
Beyond Thought. Theres a masterclass with producer/engineer
Prince Fatty (J Dilla, Mad Professor) who discusses creativity, mixing
techniques and dub FX tips. JC Concato explores the Eventide Fission
plug-in and how it can be used to effectively separate transient and
tail information. Web www.pointblanklondon.com

//SOFTWARE
DEMO//SOFTWARE
U-HE REPRO-1
(WINDOWS, MAC OS X)
An authentic, raw-sounding
emulation of a classic analogue
mono synth. Repro-1 uses
component-level modelling to
capture the originals quirks and
adds five effects, arpeggiator,
sequencer and more.
www.u-he.com
DEMO//SOFTWARE
PLUGIN ALLIANCE BLACK
BOX HG-2 (WINDOWS,
MAC OS X)
An emulation of the revered Black
Box Analog Design HG-2 processor
that uses models of four different-
sounding tubes in series and
parallel to produce an array of
effects from light sheen to
heavy overdrive.
www.pluginalliance.com
DEMO//SOFTWARE
TONE2 RAYBLASTER 2
(WINDOWS, MAC OS X)
An update of Tone2s unique
sounding Impulse Modelling
Synthesis instrument. Other new
features include an improved
sound, drag-and-drop modulation,
new sounds and effects and a
lot more.
www.tone2.com
FULL//SOFTWARE
TBPROAUDIO MVMETER
(WINDOWS, MAC OS X)
Here we have a classic analogue
metering plug-in with Peak, RMS,
EBU R128, VU and PPM modes,
multichannel options, adjustable
pre-gain, gain matching and a
resizeable GUI.
www.tb-software.com
FULL//SOFTWARE
HORNET PLUGINS
HORNET HARMONICS
(WINDOWS, MAC OS X)
This is a wave shaper with 10
harmonics generators and
control over amplitude and phase,
which lets you create interesting
distortion effects by increasing
or decreasing harmonic levels.
www.hornetplugins.com
VIDEO FEATURE//41 MINS
//AMBER, SMART EQ+,
SHAPERBOX AND MORE
Size 980MB Format MP4
This months videos from Loop+
include the in-house team taking a look at
The Amber guitar instrument from the
rather great Virtual Guitarist
EQing a reggae track using Sonibles
smart:EQ+ plug-in
Creating complex filter patterns using
ShaperBox by Cableguys
Morphing synth sounds via Sonic
Factions Clone instrument for Ableton Live.
Finally, theres also a video with
Producertechs Rob Jones getting creative
with Ableton clip Follow Actions,
by creating randomly generated
percussion patterns.
Web www.loopmasters.com/loopplus

114 | May 2017 MAGAZINE

MT170.dvd page.indd 114 06/04/2017 09:40

Low Profile, High Impact
The AE2300 features a rugged, brass metal construction and low-profile
design, with the ability to handle high SPLs, and a transient response that far
exceeds typical dynamic microphones, along with a switchable low-pass
filter, making it ideal for live drums, guitar, brass and woodwind.
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RUNS IN THE FAMILY
With nearly 70 years of audio expertise and innovation, AKG builds headphones to suit any application. From the new agship
K872 Master Reference headphones to the budget-friendly K72, each headphone extends the legendary AKG heritage of
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component quality ensures maximum durability. AKG headphones enable you to make and hear music like never before.
To learn more, visit akg.com or your AKG dealer.

2017 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved. AKG is a trademark of AKG Acoustics GmbH, registered
in the United States and/or other countries. Features, specifications and appearance are subject to change without notice.
Designed and engineered in Vienna, Austria

TECHNOLOGY
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