Plughugger - music tech review blog - Reviews

Wave Alchemy SFX Collection 02

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 02:08:51 -0800

Review of Wave Alchemy SFX Collection 02: the latest library from Wave Alchemy sets the focus on cinematic effects - but this library is not just about Hollywood-esque booms and soundscapes - there are also a fair number of traditional synth effects aimed for modern dance productions.

Big Boom.

Regular readers of this blog knows that I am a consistent complainer when it comes to sound libraries that are too heavy in the single drum section. While I personally believe that most people have enough 909 kicks drums to last a lifetime - but when it comes to effect sounds, there cannot exist too many effect sounds on my hard drive.

In other words: I am a sucker for effects.

As everybody knows, there are a number of different effect libraries. First we have the libraries with real recordings, where sounds like thunder, chopping carrots and purring cats are captured. Then we have the electronic effect libraries that are made synthetically, and there are cinematic effects that sounds like the effects heard in movies.

After been following the development of Wave Alchemy for a number of years, I was entirely expecting a library of synthetic sound effects aimed for electronic music - but I was wrong. With SFX Collection 02 Wave Alchemy takes a big step into the world of cinematic effects. In other words: boom today!

So, let's break down what’s included in the library. All in all there are 826 samples divided into the following categories:

Impacts
Cinematic Slams
Cymbal FX
Uplifters
Downshifters
Noise Tools
Risers & Falls
Soundscapes & Ambience
Synth Impacts & Stabs
Twisted Transition FX
Analogue Synth FX

The impacts are big in a very dramatic sort of way, and I can easily imagine hearing these sounds in an Iron Man or Transformers movie. It's big with a very modern touch.

The cinematic slams expands on this further and it's at this point when I realize that the reason why the sounds sound so different from effect libraries specifically aimed for dance music producers is that the sources of sounds are much wider - sure, you can sniff out classic analog bass drums but a large part of the sounds are based on sounds coming from other sources, such as real drums.

Another area where I was curious about was the uplifters - and just as with the impacts, the majority of the sounds have their foundation in other soundsources than pure synthesis. In fact - there are so few sounds that are so obviously synthetic that these sound tend to jump out.

The Soundscape & Ambience category takes Wave Alchemy back to familiar territory. These sounds have a more synthetic core than the other sounds - but in a weird, spooky kind of way. The only negative thing I can say about these sounds is that there are only 26(!) of them. Synth Impacts & Stabs is what I would call the little brother of Soundscape & Ambience - a bit less on the spookiness, a little less fade-ins but equally atmospheric.

The very last category in the library is called Analogue Synth FX, and is oddly marked as a bonus category. In here there are almost 250 sounds stretching from bass drops, impacts and processed synthesizer weirdness. The foundation of this category is entirely syntactical and balances the Hollywood-ness of the other sounds well. This category could easily be sold separately (which in fact it does - 8.95 pounds). The only bad things I can say about this category is that it's a bit of a mixed bag. But the contents is absolutely superb.

CONCLUSION
SFX Collection 02 is a collection of very big sounding effects with a very modern and professional feeling. The fact that a big part of SFX Collection 02 is based around other sounds than the typical synthesized sounds make the sounds jump out in an entirely different manner than with sounds from analog or digital sources. They will make your music feel way more dramatic and way more cinematic. This is naturally a double edged sword - and although I easily can imagine these sounds making a bombastic trance anthem become even more epid - I can most definitely see how these sounds can be overused and actually steal away the attention from the music. My advice is this - if you want some extraordinary power and drama in your tracks - SFX Collection 02 is a library that will do that for you. But use these sounds with care. Unlike traditional synthesizer effects these sounds grabs the attention so hard you might actually sink a track by using too much of these effects. With power comes responsibility. But with that said - there is not one single bad thing with Wave Alchemy SFX Collection 02.

Wave Alchemy SFX Collection 02
Web: www.wavealchemy.co.uk.
Price: 44.95 pounds.
Good: Extremely well-crafted sounds and effects.
Bad: Nothing.

Review copy: thanks to Wave Alchemy for NFR.

Inspire Audio Loops And Snippets Vol.1

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:24:51 -0800

Review of Inspire Audio Loops And Snippets Vol.1: if you are on the lookout for some tasty kick-less drum loops and crunchy old-school percussive sounds - Loops And Snippets is a library well worth checking out.

German producer Jürgen Driessen is a fellow with a penchant for all things I love: electronic drum sounds, old analog equipment and synthesizers, and in Loops And Snippets Vol.1 he combines his passion into a handy library of 120 loops and 260 sounds.

While Inspire Audio themselves describe the direction of the library to be Deep House and Tech House - I'd rather expand on it, saying they are cool for most kinds of electronic music styles where you want to step up from traditional commercial club rhythms without going into pleasing the analytical minds of the electronica connoisseurs. In other words - the loops are more complicated than the mainstream, but still well within borders of what you can expect to hear in a club.

Click here to listen to the demo.

The loops are divided into five categories: JDs Weird, Percussion Loops, Synth Loops, Tech House Loops and Tops and Tweaks. The "Weird" loops isn't really weird - just a bit more experimental than the rest. As I already mentioned before all loops are without bass drum, something that in my book is always a good thing. If there is anything I can complain about is that they contain little variation - but since the contents of the loops are quite sparse - it's really not a big thing to complain about - you can easily bend these loops to your will and taste.

Still being in my complaining mode - most of the single drum sounds feel so-so. It's mainly sounds we've all heard a million times before - sure, there are some unique elements and equally sure - they are packed together so you easily can create deep house-ish beats in no time. I am not saying the sounds are bad in any way - just that the kicks, claps and hats felt like material I already am loaded with a thousand times over. But that's me.

But with that said - the percussion sounds are simply brilliant. Five out of five possible points. They got attitude and a style of their own.

CONCLUSION
My favorite sounds in this library quickly became the percussion sounds - which have been treated with some reverb and are coated with that crunchy sound of old samplers. The loops also left a very positive impression on me - partly by walking that thin line between the abstract and mainstream - but also by being so cleverly executed. These are loops that doesn't fill out every corner of the frequency spectrum. They are sound good and are interesting. All i all - Loops And Snippets Vol.1 is a library well worth checking out if you are out for some really tasty percussion sounds and loops.

Inspire Audio Loops And Snippets Vol.1
Web: inspireaudio.de.
Price: 14.98 euro.
Good: Fantastic percussion sounds. Good kick-less loops.
Bad: The kick drums, claps and hihats didn't impress me as much as the rest of the material.

Review copy: thanks to Inspire Audio for NFR!

Loopmasters Stereo MC's - Vaultage

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:52:17 -0800

Review of Loopmasters Stereo MC's - Vaultage: Stereo MC's sample library is a gorgeous mix of styles and sounds, and should be on the top of the list for all producers who want to inject a bit of the 90s into their music.

I'll be honest. Apart from their big hits Connected and Step It Up, I really don't know much about Stereo Mc's. But even today when one of their hits reaches the speakers of my car - I always turn up the volume. And not just me - I've never met anyone who doesn't like Stereo Mc's. Their big hits are damn good songs and they still work year after year, and I know I'll still be hearing Connected in my car ten years from now. And digging it.

So when Loopmasters released a sample library made in collaboration with them - it was no question that it had to be reviewed.

In terms of attitude I've always placed Stereo Mc's together with Happy Mondays. Although Happy Mondays always have been more punk in their musical soul - Stereo Mc's share the same fundamental strategy - if it sounds good - it's good. Period.

If there is anything I miss about the 90s - it is that crazy energy that came when music equipment became affordable.

Most people were sampling everything from everywhere. It was a very creative period where many musically interesting bands found their ways to the charts.

What I am trying to say is that I expected to find a sound library covering practically all corners of the musical universe.

I - in my infinite wisdom - was naturally entirely correct.

Just by start listening to the loops and you realize that this is probably as far off the niched and laser-cut libraries we are mainly seeing today. If someone would boil down my personal collection of sounds and loops - it would probably be equally spread out over genres and tempos like this library.

The style is charmingly cross-over. It's hip hop, house, rock and techno - all at the same time.

The drum loops go from the monotonous techno-house patterns to breakbeat and odd hip hop-ish meters. The basslines span from techno-ish synthlines to electric guitars that could easily be played by Primal Scream.

Although that the brass loops have a more distinct hip hop-feel to them - they will most definitely satisfy producers of old school house. The same could be said for the strings - the majority have that looped feeling that are so common with hip hop.

Personally I am a big hater when it comes to pre-recorded vocals samples - according to my experience, they are 99 percent rubbish and it's better to even bring in a entirely talentless vocalist rather than using vocal samples (believe me - it is). But I really must say I enjoyed these samples in the same sense I liked the vocal samples that came with Marshall Jeffersons first sample library. They bring a certain cheeky coolness.

CONCLUSION
Vaultage is a journey back to the sound of the 90s - but also a healthy reminder how sample libraries were made at that time. The library is a collection of loops and sounds that covers a wide range of styles and types of sounds. In spirit it feels connected with the old sample library Ecstatic Goldmine and the newer Sound Science library from Coldcut. Although you most definitely can start producing Stereo MC-esque hip hop and house with this collection - I'd rather see it as a compliment to your existing arsenal of sounds. Vaultage is toolbox that will surprise and inspire you for years to come. The material in this collection is absolutely brilliant. Buy it. You won't regret it one second.

Loopmasters Stereo MC's - Vaultage
Web: Loopmasters.
Price: 34.95 pounds.
Good: Wonderful collection of sounds and loops.
Bad: Nothing really. It's a truly great library.

Review copy: thanks to Loopmasters for NFR.

Myloops Solid Drums 2

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 01:31:17 -0800

Review of Myloops Solid Drums 2: The highlights of this library are its kicks and kick-less drum loops - all specifically tailored for popular trance music.

Solid drums for trance.

Myloops is a sound label managed by french producer Jonathan Blakoe. The first time I encountered material from Myloops was with their library Trance Cosmos : Elements Volume 3 - which went straight into my heart (which is kind of rare for a trance library I must say). Good solid loops and with all material available as loops, separate samples and midi files. In other words - a good starting point for your own adventures in trance-land.

Solid Drums Volume 2 is a collection of 300 drum loops, 100 single kick drums and 100 effect loops - all specifically made for trance music productions.

Click here to listen to a demo.

Myloops are particularly bold when it comes to the included kick drums, saying (quote) "you will not need to look elsewhere for more trance kicks".

So - since the kicks are the pride of this collection, that's what we'll start with.

Already from the first kick it's clear that Myloops take their statement seriously. The kicks are very well made - and although I personally prefer even smaller kick libraries (since they are easier to handle) - 100 is well within the boundaries. While I personally wouldn't go so far to say this will be the last kicks you'll ever need - I can confidently say that if you don't find a kick you like here - you'll probably not making trance music. They are punchy and have lots of attitude.

Next under the microscope is the drum loops. The loops play in the fixed tempo of 138 bpm - but to say they are fixed is not entirely true, since most sequencers have the capability of adjusting tempo - and the loops also come as rex:es you can bend the tempo pretty much in any way of want.

All loops are kick-less and have more of a programmed studio-feel to them rather than feeling live-ish, and are based on sounds that we've heard countless of times before.

The programming is not as delicate as with the loops from Oliver Schmitt/Sounds of Revolution.

This is more the kind of material you're likely to hear on popular dance floors rather than clubs aimed for cool electronica.

Considering that the loops are made for trance - both point of above are actually good things. Trance is not about people marveling at the ingenuity of programmed loops - it's about moving the dancefloor and these loops do their job well. The intensity of the loops span from one sound to many - but the loops never come to the point where they feel overproduced.

While the effect loops are well made - they didn't impress me as much as the rest of the material. All the effect loops are rhythmical and probably originally come from the drum loops. Effects such as vocoders, resonantors, reversing of sounds, delay, flangers and resonant filters - pretty much all effects are used in these loops.

The reason why I didn't become the best friends with the effect loops was that while trance drum loops are all about replicating classic grooves - effects are not. The effects in modern trance music goes well beyond the ordinary and sometimes even touch the cinematic even with percussive effect sounds. I felt the effect loops should be bigger, bolder and bigger.

CONCLUSION
What I liked about the drum loops and the kicks was that they are so well defined. For trance and trance-ish pop these loops sits exceptionally well. They don't break any new boundaries and you've probably heard these kinds of sounds and type of loops one million times over. But when talking popular trance - that's actually a good thing. And for giving that classic trance beat - Solid Drums 2 does the job.

Myloops Solid Drums 2
Web: www.myloops.net.
Price: 31.99 euro.
Good: Spot-on kickless drum loops and kicks.
Bad: The effect loops are alright for spicing up the drums - but doesn't really inspire.

Review copy: thanks to MyLoops for NFR.

Toontrack EZmix 2

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 06:33:13 -0800

Review of Toontrack EZmix 2: It may be easy to mistake EZmix as some sort of toy. There are few controls and the interface doesn't look as impressive as those from the more "exclusive" plugmakers. But none of that is actually valid. EZmix is probably the quickest way for any producer to get to a specific sound and the quality is not to be looked down on.

Toontrack EZmix 2

The easiest way to describe EZmix is probably if you think of it as an multieffect unit of old, complete with compressors, reverbs, delays, phasers, distortion and so on, but without that questionable quality of the past and and a whole bunch of presets designed to recreate the most common effects used in music productions.

The fundamental idea is that instead of spending lots of time dialing in the right settings for the compressor, you simply select a preset that comes close and fine tune the details.

Seen from a positive view, EZmix provides you with good sounding production-ready presets right of the box. Seen from the opposite perspective, EZmix is limited and only let you adjust a fraction of the parameters.

Both views are equally true, which I actually think is a good thing.

The connoisseurs sit with their humidors and get high on the fumes of the virtual dust getting warm in their virtual compressors. The ignorant producers who doesn't really care if it's called SSL, Neve or is a product from the great Spaghetti Monster in The Sky, just tries out presets until they find something they like.

While I'm more of the second type of producer, I do enjoy getting my hands dirty, but never during the creative phase of music production. During that phase, I want as few obstacles as possible between me and my idea, and the last thing I want to do is to waste time with details.

When creating - I always settle with Good Enough.

That's where I feel EZmix excel at. Spending hours with making the compressor scream in agony is something I can do later. EZmix helps me find the right sound quicker than anything else.

In one respect one might say that EZmix is the same as the Waves signature series of plugins - but with a much less fancy interface and a way smaller price tag.

Pretty but useful?

The news in version 2 are actually not that many. There are a new distortion unit and a cabinet simulator. The biggest news is the new and vastly improved interface.

Graphically EZmix 2 has much of the feeling as the first version, but now gives the user more ways of finding the effects they are looking for.

While the effects are good, it has to be pointed out that they are all in the "safe" category. There are no bone-crushing compression creative-style here - and no insane usage of self-oscillating filters. The effects in EZmix 2 are what most producers would call normal - which I personally find relieving. With the wealth of odd plugins available, creating craziness is not something that is requires effort.

One way around the "normality" of the standard effects is buying an expansion pack from Toontrack. There are now ten different packs with presets and they cost about 29 euro each, depending where you buy them.

After having bought a few of them myself, I must say that Toontrack have created a very addictive formula here. After buying one pack - you almost directly start looking for the next. Although I personally think that the stock effects in EZmix 2 are great - I quickly fell for the Metal expansions. Apart from stuff like this - I'm not much into Metal, but I found the distortion to be really excellent, as well as the Drum Bus Compression.

HOW THE UI WORKS
While lots of users really appreciate the recent focus on guitars, I personally think the biggest improvement lies in the improved workflow. With version 1 you could browse the presets and mark the good ones as favourites - but the ways of finding your preset was quite limited. With version 2 you cannot only browse - but also filter out sounds based on a large number of criteria, such as instrument group, type of effect, genre and group of presets (such as expansion packs).

Two knobs is enough.

The really nifty thing here is that you in the result browser also can sort the presets in different ways, of my favourite is sorting by number of used effects. This way you can instantly see which effects that might suit you best - looking for a clean chorus? Choose one with one or two effects in the chain. Looking for a killer distortion that will eat up 90 percent of the available frequency spectrum? Go for the complex chains.

CONCLUSION
The most common criticism I hear about EZmix is the lack of controls and you cannot do so much tweaking with the presets. While EZmix indeed have an absolute minimum of adjustable parameters, I never felt it to be a huge limitation. Instead of dialing up your own compressors from zero to fit that snare, or balancing reverb against delays to get that perfect ambience for your vocal track - you are simply trying out different well-tried formulas. In this respect - EZmix is either a hit or a miss. Within a couple of minutes I can change the character of a whole song - and the results all sounds damn good.

I don't see EZmix as a replacement of separate compressors, reverbs and other effect processors - but I could easily see that happen. If you are looking for a tool that will help you speed up production and give you a damn good sound - EZmix is on the top of the list. Brilliant.

Toontrack EZmix 2
Web: www.toontrack.com.
Price: 139 euro.
Good: Very good effects, instant loading of effects, easy to find what you look for.
Bad: Nothing really. The included effects are quite normal. If you want effects for specific genres - there are ten expansion packs.

Review copy: thanks to Toontrack for NFR.

Hal Leonard Music 3.0

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 02:56:45 -0800

Review of the Hal Leonard book Music 3.0: Are you trying to find a way to make make sense of the post-record company world? This book actually gets you sorted.

Music 3.0

Every time I'm at the newsstand checking out the latest issues of Future Music, Computer Music and Sound on Sound - I always fall for headlines such as 'How to make it in modern music business'. And every time, I always end up getting depressed. Not so much for that the days when you actually could send a demo and get signed - are gone, but mainly because those articles are so damn bad.

Being hard here, and generalizing - those articles is basically just repeating things that everybody already know.

Yes - we know that Youtube and social websites are important, and yes - we do know that it's important to make your music sound as good as possible.

So when Hal Leonard announced their book Music 3.0 by fellow Bobby Owsinski I was as sceptic as I was intrigued, nurturing a small hope that this book would project a path for a musician who wants to build up a brand on his/hers music.

Although Music 3.0 talks about essentially about the same things as all those music magazine articles - it does so in a much deeper sense.

There is a context. You understand how things are connected, how they worked in the past, how things have changed and how actually can benefit from this.

As a journalist for the last 15 years I know when someone is bullshitting. I know what to do when my editor asks me to give me 3000 more characters. Filling pages with useless words is not a challenge.

Music 3.0 is not one of those books. It's straight to the point and goes through the different areas systematically, giving lots of real life examples and slowly paints up a picture that actually make sense.

And this is desperately needed. What does it matter if your own songs easily could compete in the charts, if you can't even get people in the business to listen to them?

It's obvious an alternative path is needed and this book helps you plot the terrain.

What I liked about the book is the approach. There is none of that over-optimistic sky-is-the-limit kind of hype - but a very realistic, sober and practical view on the tools available.

How to use them - and maybe more importantly - how not to use them.

CONCLUSION
I gladly recommend this book to anyone who would like to try their fortune in the music business. But be prepared - the biggest change is that the work now lies with you. But as I've personally found out with my own Bloatfield project - this is not something that is bad. It takes time, it's lots of work - sure - but the feeling of having your true fans close to you is almost magical. Buy the book. It's a good read.

Hal Leonard Music 3.0
Web: Hal Leonard.
Price: 25 dollar.
Good: Clear and informative. Very useful for artists who wants to try the indie path.
Bad: Nothing really. Maybe the lack of a version for Kindle.

Review copy: bought from Amazon.

Binary Music Valve 4 Op

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:24:41 -0800

Review of Binary Music Valve 4 Op: Yamaha FM strikes back! Valve 4 Op is a instrument for Kontakt 4 that is constructed around an old Yamaha TX81Z FM synthesizer.

Yamaha FM in Kontakt.

No matter what opinions you may have with Native Instrument Kontakt - one thing is crystal clear: it's the Akai-format of the modern age. It's the format which the most vibrant and interesting new libraries are created.

During the last months many highly interesting libraries for the Kontakt engine have been released, such as Wave Alchemy Pro II and all those lovely Hollow Sun instruments.

Valve 4 Op is built upon the sound of an old quirky Yamaha TX81Z and recorded through an Inward Connections Vac Rac 4000 valve pre-amp. All in all this collection contains 112 presets and around 2300 samples. If one should be picky - not all the sounds are looped, which means that the sustain envelope doesn't do anything. I wouldn't say that this is a huge problem - but there were a couple of times when I wished it was possible to make some sounds longer.

The presets themselves are divided into two categories: pimped and pure, where the pure category remains more faithful to the original sounds of the Yamaha. For me personally, I've never been much of a fan for those FM-ish bells or those horrid electric pianos. But thankfully FM synthesis can also produce incredibly cool drum and percussion sounds, as well as pseudo-analog basses and artificial pads, and that's where I personally find the strength of this library.

The presets in Valve 4 Op is good and definitely made by someone who know how to make sounds. But with that said, I must say that I at times missed a wilder approach. The designer created a few nice alternatives with the classic Lately Bass. I just wish this would have extended to more sounds.

A few more thoughts. The effects and unison are provided by the Kontakt engine - which does a good job - but it would have been nice to see some classic 90s reverb units represented among the effects (such as impulses from a cheap Alesis reverb would have nailed the feeling even harder). I'm not a big fan of the Kontakt Unison - it sounds too weak for my ears, but in all fairness it works quite well with FM types of sounds.

CONCLUSION
Valve 4 Op is a nice Kontakt library for a very decent price. If you are looking for 90s old-school sounds for hiphop, techno and house - this is a more authentic alternative than going to modern fm synthesizers such as Native Instruments FM8. My personal favourites quickly became the drum and percussion sounds which is absolutely great.

Binary Music Valve 4 Op
Web: www.binarymusic.co.uk.
Price: 18 pounds (including taxes).
Good: Good sounds, nice interface, decent price.
Bad: Not all sounds are looped, more developed sounds would have been great.

Review copy: review copy from Binary Music. Thanks!

IF YOU LIKED THIS YOU'LL LIKE:
Brilliant 80s synth collection - UVI Emulation II
Prophet brought to the space age - Wave Alchemy Pro II

Tronsonic Dark Horse

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:10:53 -0800

Review of Tronsonic Dark Horse: Dark Horse is a collection of sounds taken from the old Kawai 100f analog synthesizer and processed in authentic 60's recording equipment.

Dark Horse Kawai 100f.

Although my very first synthesizer was a Kawai and I've programmed quite a few of their other models, I didn't even know there was a model called 100f. After reading up on the model (Vintagesynth link here) I can tell you it's a monophonic, analog synthesizer with one oscillator, a resonant filter that can be modulated by an lfo or an envelope and portamento.

The interface.

In all honesty it's not really a synthesizer that would make it into my wanted top-ten list - but with indie developer Tronsonic offers it with an interesting twist. Dark Horse is based on the Kontakt/EXS24 engines and comes with 175 presets each. Two things make this resurrection interesting: it's cheap and the developer have recorded all the sounds on tape before stuffing them into the sampler.

But my initial skepticism about the sound of the Kawai 100f proved to be a bit naive. Not everything needs to have three oscillators and hard cutting filters to be cool.

If I were to describe the sound of the 100f I would say it sounds like a mix between old vintage computer game sounds (not SID-ish though) and a thin-sounding analog synthesizer.

The good thing about this library is that the sounds have a character that aren't normally found in todays software emulations, and I'm sure the treatment of recording the sounds to tape helped bringing out the sounds.

Here is a short clip I made with Dark Horse.

But the collection is not without its faults. I think it would have been better if the developer would have cut down the amount of presets - selected the best ones and perhaps refined them a bit more. They are a bit rough.

Secondly - in these days when most Kontakt libraries come with their own graphic interface - I think Dark Horse could do well with a interface make-over. Not just for appearance - but also to bring out the controllers to the user. As it is now, the user have to dig into the parameters of EXS24 or Kontakt - and with Kontakt that is never a pleasant experience.

CONCLUSION
Dark Horse is a library that is a bit rough around the edges, but many of the sounds are actually very nice, especially the pads which really doesn't sound like anything that's on the market right now. If your taste lies in softer and quirkier sounds, Dark Horse is a library well worth checking out.

Tronsonic Dark Horse
Web: www.tronsonic.com.
Price: 13 pounds.
Good: Very interesting sound, excellent pad sounds.
Bad: Presets are a bit rough and the instrument could do well with a visual make-over.

Review copy: review copy from Tronsonic.

IF YOU LIKED THIS YOU'LL LIKE:
Instant weird ambient sounds - Hollow Sun Cognosphere
Oddly distorted sounds - Sidsonic Tubes!

UVI Emulation II

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:59:24 -0800

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.

And although I actually prefer the sound and feeling of the 90s rather the 80s - it was during the 80s when the coolest synthesizers and electronic instruments were made. It marked the peak of when the creative spirit reached its highest point.

I am of the firm opinion that most synthesizers produced in this era still beats the sound and feeling of even the most modern and developed plugins of today. If it wouldn't be such a horrible hassle to leave the wonderful world of total recall, I wouldn't mind leaving all those VSTs behind. Seriously. Go buy an old Ensoniq, Yamaha or Roland from that time and you will know what I am talking about.

When UVI released their Emulation II sound expander, I immediately got interested and quickly wrote to them asking for a review copy, hoping that this collection would be the missing bridge between the sounds of the 80s and modern technology.

Quite quickly I realized that Emulation II is one of the most well-made libraries of 80s sounds I've ever encountered.

There are 270 sounds in Emulation II and practically all of them are on the spot.

It's like those old Roland sound modules full with material that sounds perfect right out of the box - but here the focus is on the 80s.

Although the visuals of Emulation II suggest a love for a certain Emulator sampler - the material is way broader than that. Here you can find material from the Yamaha DX7:s, Roland D50s, Jupiters, Prophet VS and many more. But at the same time the material is seriously lacking coverage from many classic machines. A note to the sound designers at UVI. The Korg M1 piano cannot be substituted with an Emulator II Grand Piano or a cheesy Honkey Tonk Piano.

What I am trying to say is there has obviously been a selection of which sounds to include in Emulation II. This was my first disappointment with the library, that there are many sounds I deeply connect with the 80s that aren't represented.

Editing in Machfive.

But when talking about faults - the biggest problem with Emulation II is in my opinion its editing capabilities, which I would describe as seriously limited.

There are two envelopes, one stereo tool, one effect section with phaser, delay and reverb, a bit crusher and a section where you can assign the modulation wheel - that's it.

I suspect the reason why not to make the interface more programmable was partly to make it simple to use and keep the sounds true to the original feeling - people who want to go further can buy MachFive and take the sounds into the future. If this is the reason I partly understand that - but still... an assignable lfo would have opened up for lots of fun. 80s dubstep basses anyone? But maybe UVI wanted to prevent exactly that.

80s drums.

Just mentioned as a free bonus is the drum instrument Drumulation, which is a drum machine with a simple built-in step sequencer. This instrument is actually a little gem. Sound wise it squeezes together some 500 drum and percussion sounds - but what's so nice about it is that it's so damn complete. Without exaggerating, Drumulation is the ultimate beatbox for creating those classic 80s rhythms.

CONCLUSION
For any 80s-inspired production, there are two libraries I would reach for: Zero-G Nostalgia and this one. While Nostalgia covers way more ground, it's not even close as refined as Emulation II. Although I find the 180 euro price tag high - I must stress that you get premium quality. There is no dead meat. Every sound is selected for a reason and every sound sounds absolutely excellent. The included "bonus" Drumulation instrument is what actually seals the deal for me. I've never encountered such a complete or simple to use tool for creating 80s sounding rhythms before. If you have the slightest weakness for the sounds of the 80s - Emulation II should be on top of your list.

UVI Emulation II
Web: www.uvi.net.
Price: 180 euro.
Good: Cool interface, spot on sounds, no dead meat.
Bad: Very limited editing possibilities (if you don't own Machfive).

Review copy: thanks to UVI for NFR.

Hollow Sun Cognosphere

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:47:58 -0800

Review of Hollow Sun Cognosphere: Cognosphere is the latest instrument in the Hollow Sun Music Laboratory Machines series and builds its sound from something so unlikely as dusty test-oscillators from the 40s and the 50s.

Let the cogwheel spin.

After I bought Techtron I've been eyeing Hollow Sun very closely - especially their Music Laboratory Machines series which is a synthesizer built upon Native Instruments Kontakt engine.

While Techtron was constructed around two oscillators with the same waveform - Cognosphere is an entirely different animal: six oscillators - one noise generator - with sounds sampled from vintage test oscillators from the 40s and the 50s.

Just by looking at the specification you might get the impression that Cognosphere could be of the most lofi of lofi-synthesizers - but it's not. If I should describe Cognosphere I would say it's some kind of ambient sound generator with a penchant for the soft and spooky - rather than the big and nasty. Until you start working with the effects that is - especially the distortion. In this respect Cognosphere is quite interesting. Initially I didn't really find its sound that appealing. It got that The Orb-ish mystery vibe and when listening to the sounds from the raw oscillators, and I directly started to think about electronic toys for children.

"But when you turn on the distortion is like stepping into a horror movie. The mystic sounds is instantly replaced by sinister atmospheres".

But when you turn on the distortion is like stepping into a horror movie. The mystic sounds is instantly replaced by sinister atmospheres.

The effects: instant horror.

Working with Cognosphere is both a bit fiddly and creative at the same time. As with all Music Laboratory Machines the design is absolutely gorgeous. It sets the atmosphere just right. But designing sounds from scratch is... not difficult, but more like a journey. It's almost like a mix between a traditional subtractive synthesizer and a synthesizer using additive synthesis.

One very cool feature is the instant randomization feature. Every time you click the big cogwheel a new sound is generated. The sounds generated with this span from the this-is-ok to this-is-great. In other words, it's quite usable compared with many other randomizers.

CONCLUSION
While Techtron covers the supersaw base - Cognosphere covers the ambient, mystic and sinister. It's way more of a one-trick pony than Techtron is, but in a world where almost all products are aimed for everybody - I consider this to be a good thing. The highlights of the plug is definitely the instant randomization feature, and in combination with the effects you can quickly create some quite bone-chilling sounds and atmospheres.

Hollow Sun Cognosphere
Web: www.hollowsun.com.
Price: 10 pounds.
Good: Fantastic for odd ambient sounds and dark sinister soundscapes.
Bad: Nothing really. It is what it is and it does it well.

Review copy: bought from Hollow Sun.

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