UVI Emulation II 01/30/2012
Review of UVI Emulation II: For lovers of the sounds of the 80s - Emulation II is a sound library not to be missed. While it has its limitations - it's easy the best 80s sound library on the market.  Revival of the 80s. Although that the 80s had its particular sound in terms of production, such as huge gated snares and cheesy synthesizers, I always look back on the 80s as the time when the soul and definition of pop really got nailed. Sure, what we call pop today springs from many sources such as soul, disco and even rock - but the core of all those catchy melodies and massive intros we're hearing today is so 80s it possibly can be.
Click here to hear (and see) a demo of UVI Emulation II. Add Comment Review of Sound of Revolution Kick Free Revolution Vol 3: Oliver Schmitt is back with a new collection of kick free loops. If you are into electro and techno, this is a collection of loops that will help you stand out.  Bring your own kicks. Oliver Schmitt is a man driven by a passion. Just like Deadmau5, Oliver Schmitt knows the art of creating drum loops that sound spot-on modern with a minimum of ingredients. For someone like me - who rather add than take away - it's almost like dark magic. But as the old idiom famously says 'the devil is in the details' - and that's what Oliver Schmitts loops are all about. Tiny details that you barely register but perceive as a whole.
Hollow Sun Techtron 01/08/2012
Review of Hollow Sun Techtron: Techtron is an instrument based on Kontakt 4 built upon two super sawtooth oscillators. Lovers of massive pads and huge sawtooth leads - rejoice. It barely gets better than this.  Supersaw instrument. Hollow Sun is one of those sound designers who flies a bit under the radar. They don't make huge noise of themselves and their presence on the internet is very humble. No clever marketing drops in forum threads. They are just doing their stuff - which they have been doing for years - at a unbelievably low price.
In short Music Laboratory Machines is specialized instruments built on the Kontakt 4 engine and currently there are ten different members of the family. In this short test we'll be looking at Techtron - a synthesizer based on two supersaw oscillators. Wave Alchemy Pro II 12/18/2011
Review of Wave Alchemy Pro II: if Sequential Circuits ever would have released a follow-up to the monophonic Pro One analog synthesizer, it might well have looked like this. Wave Alchemy does a truly remarkable job with its first synthesizer.  If the Minimoog is the dream synthesizer for performers who want to spend as little time as possible designing new sounds, the Sequential Circuits Pro One (and of course its older brother the Prophet 5) are definitely aimed for people who have a deeper interest in designing their own sounds.
As John Bowen once told me in an interview - they didn't add a third ocillator to the Prophet 5 in order to keep costs down, which led them to invent the Poly Mod section - the forerunner to the modulation matrixes we see in most synthesizers today. The Pro One is basically a monophonic version of the Prophet 5 and has all of the Prophet's features: two oscillators, a resonant filter, an lfo and envelopes. Although the Prophet 5 and Pro One are very versatile, I've always found me wishing for more when working with them. One more oscillator, a more flexible filter, one more lfo and so on. When the sampling maestros at Wave Alchemy started to sample the Pro One they did what the people at Native Instruments, Creamware and Arturia have already done: create a faithful clone of a legendary instrument. But Wave Alchemy didn't limit themselves as hard as the other developers did. The spirit of the Prophet is there - but they allowed themselves to expand the concept and take the Pro One into the modern age. Say hello to the Pro II. Sample Magic Electro 03/02/2011
Review of Sample Magic Electro: Release number 20 from soundbenders Sample Magic is dedicated to electro - and when Sample Magic talks electro, they mean commercial electro.  The magic is back. If I would say that trance is dead, it would come back and haunt me until I repent. So I won't say that. Instead I'll say that Electro is the hottest style on the three most important places right now: clubs, radio and the fitness club. So when sample moguls Sample Magic release a 850+ sound library in the said style, you pay attention.
It's easy to repeat yourself when reviewing products from Sample Magic, and right now it seems this producer of loops and sounds can do nothing wrong. While I personally am a big fan of Sample Magic, I feel their greatness have come with age. Although early releases were good - I think their most recent releases have been impressive as in 10/10. Synapse Audio Dune 01/15/2011
Review of Synapse Audio Dune: After years of hibernation old softsynth maestros Synapse Audio once again show their skill in creating synthesizers. Dune is a synth clearly aimed for the electronic dance music scene, and gives synths such as Sylenth 1, ElectraX and even Nexus a tough run for the money.  I control the spice. Review of Synapse Audio Dune: After years of hibernation old softsynth maestros Synapse Audio once again show their skill in creating synthesizers. Dune is a synth clearly aimed for the electronic dance music scene, and gives synths such as Sylenth 1, ElectraX and even Nexus a tough run for the money. Fxpansion Geist 01/05/2011
Review of Fxpansion Geist: The followup to the legendary drum sequencer Guru is finally here, but it's not Guru 2 - it's a whole new product called Geist.  Geist. While Guru was an extremely powerful and versatile sample based drum sequencer - it was still only that. A drum sequencer. The new Geist is still a drum sequencer, but takes the concept a few steps further, streamlines it and the result is something that is starting to touch pattern-based sequencers. While the acronym DAW is not appropriate - it's most definitely getting closer with Geist. Just to be clear. Altough this text focus on Geist, I'll be throwing in references and comparisons to Guru and also to native Instruments Maschine as I see fit. Wave Alchemy Deep Tech and Progressive 10/26/2010
Review of Wave Alchemy Deep Tech and Progressive: Wave Alchemy have a solid reputation of being one of the top players among the creators of sample libraries, and with their latest product they show they're not afraid of pushing the boundaries.  Last time I laid my perverted hands on a library from Wave Alchemy was a couple of months back when I got the opportunity to write about their Drum Tools 01 collection of processed drum samples. Since then they have been working on a new library, just released - aimed for the more quirkier and darker side of techno. This time, it's not just drum sounds on the menu, but also loops: drum, bass and synths. Since I have three nasty deadlines hanging over me, I won't waste any time but get straight to it. Sample Magic Organic House 09/26/2010
Review of Sample Magic Organic House: Autumn is here and what better way is there than to warm yourself with some uplifting haus? Sample Magic shows us the way.  Sample Magic Organic House House. No matter what kind of music I listen to, I always come back to house. It's like coming home. Tech House. Minimal House. Uplifting House. Old-old-school hiphop (which I consider to be house in its most original form). Whatever. House is Home. Without dragging sexual preferences into this blog, I'd like to say there are only three types of clubs I honor with my royal presence: 1) dark, atonal techno clubs 2) where ever Plump DJs are performing and 3) gay clubs. No matter how straight or bent you are, there are few places that play better, more danceable music than gay clubs. And in gay clubs, they play House. Real House. Not the minimal technoish-kind nor the silk-like tones of smokey Rhodes of laid-back house. No, Real House is upbeat in a feel-good manner. The Only One (tm) you actually want to start clapping your hands to the beat without feeling like a moron. Sidsonic Libraries Tubes! 09/02/2010
Review of Sidsonic Tubes! Tubes is a sample library specially designed for sounds passing of old dusty vacuum tubes. As with all products Sidsonic - Tubes is not for the person who enjoys tubification in small, well constrained, amounts. Ass-Blasters set to burn!  Sidsonic Tubes! Tubes, tubes, tubes. They are all the rage and fashion and have been popping up in all kinds of instruments, mixers and pedals, but also in quite unexpected gear, such as the 2002 Aopen PC mainboard with a built-in russian-made tube to ensure your pleasure while listening to Gorillaz. It's all - of course - about distortion. As with recording to magnetic tape, distorting a tube doesn't clip in the nasty way it does with a/d converters and transistors. The headroom brings something extra. You've all heard about the wonders and magic about TUBE SOUND that brings WARMTH to your mixes. If I sound less than convinced - let me explain my cynicism here. When I read about some hot-shot dance producer talk themselves wet over the WARM sound of their latest gear, I get so tired I cannot finish reading. You wanna hear the truth? You damn morons hear what you want to hear. Period. | Subscribe news
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