Tag: Gunnar E

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PSP Audioware PSP Datamix A567

Tracking and Mixing Console Equalizer

Software Review

Love or hate it…

EQ and filter units often have a tendency to divide people into groups. In the case of the PSP Datamix A567 from Polish software developers PSP Audioware, this is especially true. The developers have even gone so far as to warn users in advance: “You’ll either love this plug-in or you’ll really hate it.” No wonder I was really curious.

Eddie Kramer…

Eddie Kramer, or Edwin H. Kramer as he is actually called, is currently based in Canada, but he originally hails from South Africa. He has made a name for himself as a recording engineer and producer, and as such he has worked with artists such as Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, the Kinks, Kiss, John Mellencamp as well as Carlos Santana. He has also contributed his expertise to the recording of soundtracks for films such as Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight, Jimi Plays Monterey, Live at the Fillmore East, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Rainbow Bridge, The Song Remains the Same and Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack, plus many more.

Eddie Kramer moved to London at the age of 19 after his parents moved there from Cape Town a few months earlier, largely because they could not stand the Apartheid regime in South Africa. In his homeland, Eddie had studied piano from the age of four and he had also taken both violin and cello lessons. In London, he quickly became involved in the music scene and already in 1962 he got his first job at a recording studio. Soon he had worked as a technician on recordings with both the Kinks, the Searchers and Sammy David Jr. He also had the honor of recording two tracks with the Beatles: ”All You Need Is Love” and ”Baby You’re a Rich Man”. Both of these tracks were recorded at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, and there he later found the opportunity to record both the Rolling Stones, Small Faces, Traffic and Jimi Hendrix.

Electric Lady Studios

With Hendrix, Kramer recorded no less than four albums, the last one at The Record Plant in New York, where he moved in 1968. He was also very involved in the construction of Hendrix’s studio Electric Lady Studios. A construction that cost, at the time a somewhat unimaginable 1 million dollars, and where we also found one of the very few mixing desks from Datamix. Initially, two Datamix desks had been ordered, but only one of them was completed – and barely – before the company behind the mixing desks went bankrupt. With the help of technicians at Electric Lady, the first desk was saved and eventually the second Datamix desk was also built, but this took several months.

Sadly enough, Hendrix passed away only a couple of weeks before the studio could be inaugurated, but during the last four weeks of his life, he and Kramer were able to record some new songs, overdub existing material and mix the album The Cry Of Love, which was then released posthumously after Hendrix’s death.

Eddie Kramer behind the Datamix console at the newly completed Electric Lady Studio A. Photo: John Vetri.

Eddie Kramer has been active as a technician and producer well into the 21st century, and he is also a renowned photographer with exhibitions where he has shown pictures of both Hendrix and a number of other top-class artists. And of course, he is one of those who really loves the PSP Datamix A567. He even contributes with some of his own presets.

He says this about his experiences:

”In today’s market, it’s great having the Datamix mic pre and equalizer available to use on contemporary Pop/Rock, R&B, Hip Hop, Metal – where every producer/engineer is looking for something different. This is the weapon of choice!”

PSP Datamix A567 

But back to today’s topic…

The PSP Datamix A567 is a software-modeled version of the preamp and EQ unit from the first generation Datamix mixing console. PSP Audioware has used no less than eight different filter modules from the original console that was sitting in the Record Plant studio. This is thanks to a certain Adam Piskorz, who was willing to lend them the modules. I’ve read about other single filter units from these consoles being out and about, but to be able to lay their hands on eight units of these classics must have been a gift from above.

The 8 Units from the Datamix console kindly lent to PSP Audioware by Adam Piskorz. Photo: Adam Piskorz.

Well, one of PSP’s founders, Antoni Ożyński, is known to have admitted that he didn’t know much about Datamix consoles. It was only when Adam Piskorz told him about the amazing preamp and filter units and how they had helped shape the sound of many of the classic records from the late 60’s that the PSP people really got going.

I have to admit that I also knew very little about Datamix when I started looking into this plug-in. If you search Google for the name, you actually get hits advertising wet feeding systems for pigs, so it’s perhaps not surprising that some of us have lived in blissful ignorance about these interesting electronic modules.

One of the two consoles from Electric Lady is now said to be at the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in Seattle, and some of the other surviving mixing consoles have been taken apart and “looted” at high prices, mainly for the very special filter parts. No complete example of the Datamix consoles have survived today, so if you want to access the special Datamix sound, there is now really only the PSP Datamix A567 as a way out for those who have not managed to get hold of a module from one of the original consoles. 

The eight units that PSP used come from the console at Record Plant studios, and a great deal of care has been put into making the software so that it really does the classic hardware full justice.

Hard work lies behind…

PSP Audioware has previously collaborated with Avedis Audio Electronics, the company behind Datamix. That time it was a different EQ plug: PSP E27 Avedis. This time the developers at PSP Audioware have really worked hard to emulate how the mic pre and filter section of the Datamix units affects an audio signal down to the smallest component. One of the special features of the filters in the original consoles was that the three filter-bands behaved differently depending on which frequencies you chose to affect, whether you wanted to cut or boost a certain frequency, and so on.

At first glance, the filters do look fairly simple. Three bands – Low, Mid and High – with a switch for each band, a large knob where you choose how much you want to affect the frequency band, and outside this another knob – with stepped positions where you choose which frequency you want to affect. Below the knobs you can read the frequencies that were in the originals – 240, 120, 60, and 30 Hz for the bass register; 0.5, 0.8, 1.3 and 2 kHz for the mid-range register and finally 4, 8 or 10 kHz for the High register. Here, however, PSP has chosen to add a few more frequencies between those given from the original modules. When you select these intermediate positions, the frequencies are still shown with blue numbers, so that you know where you are.

Below these knobs you find a row of buttons. Eight of them represent the eight different filter modules that PSP analyzed. They all sound slightly different, just like in real life. A button with a µ indicates an average value from all the modules, whereas with the button marked with # you get an ideal value instead, which gives exactly the values ​​that all the numbers indicate.

The Variation fader allows you to adjust differences between the left and right channels of the filters. Alt Q gives you the ability to boost or cut given frequencies without affecting the Q value of the filters. In the originals – and with the usual settings in this plug-in – the bandwidth/Q value of the filters becomes narrower at more extreme filter adjustments. The last button, Sharp, can give different emphasized resonances, especially in the upper frequency range.

Tracking and Mixing Console Equalizer

The original consoles were equipped with transformers, and this has also been simulated in the software. A Drive control on the input can give a good portion of analog “preamp saturation” in the sound, and at full throttle (+30 dB) we do get a lot of really fat distortion, for those situations where you need it. With the Output knob you can simulate how a transformer might affect the sound, but you can of course also compensate for any level differences that may arise in the signal chain.

Using the Drive knob, you can achieve some really fat and naughty distortion.

And then there was the matter of how the filters affect the audio signal… All three filters have a so-called “peaking bell” curve when “boosted”. When cutting frequencies, the Low filter has a peaking curve down to 85 Hz; below this frequency it becomes a shelving filter instead. The Mid filter on the other hand gives a notch curve when cutting, and the High filter acts as shelving at all frequencies. Together with all the other inherent functions of the datamix 567, this means that you have really incredible possibilities to affect the sound, and – above all – give it a really nice analog feel.

This sounds very interesting

The PSP Datamix A567 is designed so that the filter section almost never sounds completely neutral. That was not the intention of the Datamix consoles’ EQ section either.

Here we cut 3 dB at 1.3k while boosting a couple of dB further up in the higher register, and it certainly sounds very interesting…

If you look at a frequency curve, you see that even if you don’t use any of the three band filters, the sound is affected solely by the plug being connected to the signal chain – this is also said to be a characteristic from the original consoles.

Here all the knobs are at 0dB… And yet the sound is really wonderfully analog and warm.

The developers themselves say that you either love this sound or you hate it. Personally, I find it extremely difficult to understand how anyone could hate software that sounds so wonderfully and imprudently fat, warm and analog!

To top it all off, PSP Datamix A567 offers over a hundred presets created by a variety of heavyweights in the audio industry, including some really useful settings from Eddie Kramer himself. As we have previously pointed out, he has expressed his strong approval of this plug-in.

Here we see the names of the other top names who have contributed their own presets.

Summary

The PSP Datamix A567 is somewhat of an odd bird in the audio world. Where there are now a lot of EQ plugins that can be used for recording, mastering, and God-knows-what, PSP Audioware instead niches itself much more strictly with the Datamix plugin. It is supposed to exactly mimic the sound of the preamp stages and the filter section of another odd bird, this time from the late 60´s, the Datamix console. This is a mixing console that was designed by Bill Stoddard and only a few copies were produced before the company behind the console was forced to go bankrupt. Thankfully, Adam Piskorz managed to get hold of eight (!) of these strips and he kindly enough offered to lend them to Antoni Ożyński and the other technicians at PSP Audioware.

The developers have done a fantastic job of emulating these devices down to the smallest component, and they have also added some features that were not available on the Datamix console itself.

The PSP Datamix A567 does not claim to sound neutral – quite the opposite! As soon as you connect the plugin, you hear how the sound takes on a different, and in my opinion much more pleasant, character. Then you start twiddling all the available knobs and buttons, and this time it is more or less a heaven for all lovers of analog warmth, or whatever you want to call it.

As the developers themselves say: “You either love or hate this plugin.” At least I know which side I am on. I absolutely looove the PSP Datamix A567! Try this plugin! You have 30 days to decide, and there is definitely no need for a week of regret.

Here is a short video showing what you can achieve with the PSP Datamix A567:

System Requirements

An iLok accountis required for both the trial and the full version; 3 licenses can be freely distributed between different computers or iLok dongles (2nd generation or newer)

PC

VST, VST3 and AAX

Windows 7 – Windows 11 (64-bit support only)

macOS Intel or macOS Silicon

AudioUnit, VST, VST3 and AAX

macOSX 10.14 Mojave – macOS 15 Sequoia (64-bit support only)

All DAW-apps

The latest version of iLok License Manager

DEVELOPERS PSP Audioware

INFO www.pspaudioware.com

PRICE 149 US dollars; there’s a 30-day trial version available

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The Black Beauty

Did I ever tell you about the Black Beauty? No? Well, I’d better then…

I was 18 at the time, and I was studying to be an electronics engineer in Örebro, a small town in the middle of Sweden. Well, I was supposed to study anyway, but to be honest, for some strange reason, I was far more interested in music than in doing my homework, learning about Ohm’s Second Law, and things like that. I liked the blues, mainly the Chicago style, as played by people like Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and the King of the Blues himself, mister B.B. King.

The records by those statesmen of the blues, were hard to get hold of in Sweden. Most of the licks I heard, and tried to copy, came from the gifted fingers of white guys living in the U.K. There was this guy, in particular, who was portrayed in an article in Melody Maker, a popular music magazine from England, which I could buy from my local tobacconist’s. His name was Jimmy Page, and he worked as a guitarist doing sessions for almost every popular artist and band in England at the time. In the photo, which was accompanying this article, he was more or less caressing a lovely piece of instrument. It was a Gibson Les Paul Custom. And before you ask me… Yes, of course I’ve seen a Les Paul before, but this one was really different. It had three pickups and it was black. Well, in those days you seldom saw a colour picture in a magazine of this kind anyway, but you could still tell from the black-and-white picture, that this guitar was black. Black as the night. 

I immediately fell in love with this beautiful creature, but in my heart of hearts I knew we were never to be.

I mean, I had a white old telecaster and she was really more than okay. The image of this beauty haunted me and when I found a second-hand copy of Jimmy Page’s guitar in the window of a local music shop, I was really thrilled. This instrument had a few dings and blemishes, but still it was more or less identical to Page’s guitar. 

I wanted it so badly, but how on earth was I going to be able to finance this purchase? The asking price was 850 SEK (about $100). I had no extra job and it was really more than I could afford at the time…

I tried every trick in the book to find that cash, but no luck, and days and weeks passed by. Every once in a while I cruised past the music shop, just to catch a glimpse of the Black Beauty – she was still sitting in the shop window. Truthfully it was no coincidence that I happened to walk by this shop every day, more or less.

My last ditch of hope was if I could somehow persuade my dear old mother to help me out with at least a part of this handsome sum of money – remember, we’re talking mid 60’s now.

One night, after having cooked my mother a surprise dinner, she finally gave in, and she told me I could borrow the money.

Ecstatic, the next morning I ran the few hundred yards to the music shop in a matter of seconds flat, and I managed to reach for the handle just as the shop-keeper was unlocking the door. Panting and out of breath I managed to ask: 

– The Black Beauty… is she still for sale?

The man starred at me blankly for a few seconds, until finally a look of realization cleared his brow:  

– Ah, you mean the second-hand Les Paul Custom? Well, I’m terribly sorry, but I sold it yesterday, to a guitarist playing in this band from Hjortkvarn? 

– Hjortkvarn, I said, as if this little village had anything at all to do with anything, at this very moment.

– Yes, Hjortkvarn, he replied.

– You must be joking, I said. It’s been sitting in your window for more than six weeks, and now you tell me it’s been sold???

– I’m sorry, he said, but that’s what we do for a living. We sell guitars.

I was devastated. I couldn’t believe my ears – nor my eyes, suddenly seeing the place where she has sat, now filled with another guitar.

– Hjortkvarn…

This was the last thing he heard me say. I left and I never went back to that shop. I also never saw the Black Beauty again. Through the years l occasionally heard rumours about people having seen a black Les Paul Custom with three pickups – once in Gothenburg, another time in Stockholm – but I never saw her with my own eyes again.

A couple of years later I managed to get hold of a quite nice cherry ES-345, a bit similar to the one B.B. King and Alvin Lee were playing at the time, but within a few months I knew this wasn’t true love, and never would be. Not like the love I had for the Black Beauty. 

I tell myself though, that if I had managed to buy the Les Paul Custom that day in this shop, within a few years I probably would have traded it in, for a new and nicer model. Just like I had with the ES-345. 

On the other hand, maybe she would have stayed with me even ‘til this day … more than 50 years later. Well, you never know, do you?

That’s part of the Blues, isn’t it?

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Softube Echoes

Software Review

Echoes of a time gone by

Softube already has an excellent tape-echo on its program, but the developers behind the Swedish software are capable of so much more. That’s why we weren’t particularly surprised when late in November they made a sneak release of yet another delay (Echoes), this time only to the subscribers of their newsletter. Of course we jumped at the offer, and ever since then the echoes have just been bouncing around our little music studio. Now it’s available to anyone interested.

Echoes also offers an excellent algorithm-based reverb.

Softube Echoes

Now, of course, we have to step up and try to tell the world about this formidable software. Echoes offers no less than six different delay variants with quite different basic characteristics: Filter, Reverb, BBD, Tape, Pan and Lo-fi.

  • Filter is a normal delay with a slightly filtered feedback part. A perfect echo effect for vocal overdubs.
  • Reverb works great for synths and guitar overdubs, and this algorithmic reverb has been created using the different echo taps.
  • BBD, or Bucket Brigade Device, as it is pronounced, is an analog delay technology that appeared in various delay pedals for us guitarists back in the 70s. Here, that effect has been recreated in digital form, complete with various aliasing effects.
  • Tape is based on the echo devices we’ve heard on countless records – especially on vocals – and here we’ve been given the opportunity to adjust a number of previously unwanted side effects such as distortion (drive), dirt and wobble.
  • Pan widens the stereo image even on mono sources, and can also create a certain movement with static sound sources, such as keyboards with sustain (-pedals).
  • Last, but certainly not least, we have Lo-fi. It is excellent for recreating the effect of generally “crappy” echo effects from, for example, low-budget devices from the past. Here they use bit-crushing in combination with modeled synth 4-pole filtering.
Each delay variant has its own set of adjustable variables. Here we see the BBD delay.

A formidable user interface

Softube has managed to create a user interface that is unlike anything we’ve seen before, but despite this, you have no problem understanding how everything works. Good job there, gentlemen (and ladies) developers!

Here you will find controls for the mix between dry and affected signal, for the delay time – in milliseconds or bars (if you sync to your DAW) – and for feedback. And there we also have a feedback limiter that should protect us against rampant feedback.

There is also a ducking function that allows the delay effect to be kept in check, so that it does not drown out vocals or other solo elements, but only blooms in the silence between solo phrases. The only thing I miss is the ability to lock the wet/dry mix when browsing between different presets.

In the output section, you can widen the stereo image, focus low-frequency tones into a mono image, or filter your echo effect to your liking.

Each individual delay variant has also been endowed with a variety of different setting options for that particular type of delay effect. For example, for Lo-fi we have settings for sampling frequency, bit depth, envelope follower and filter cutoff. For the reverb effect, modulation, diffusion, modulation balance and tone are offered, and for the BBD delay we find settings for waveform, modulation speed and amount, plus filter cutoff. Not bad!

You can also click in the window wherever you want and decide that you want another echo right there. Then you can move it by dragging it to the exact position in the stereo image that you like. Yum!

Echoes also offers a set of Extended Features.

Extended Features…

Softube Echoes also supports what the developers call “Extended Features”. If you click on three different symbols at the top of the Echoes window, a good set of meters for the input signal and side-chain ditto will appear on the left. On the right we find the corresponding ones for the output side and a gain-matching function. Below we find meters for head-room, a high-pass filter and a phase inverter. Thank you very much!

These are functions that you can pull out when you need them, and otherwise just put them away to save space on the screen. Really clever indeed! This feature is now available in a variety of Softube plugins, and it certainly feels useful.

Here’s how to bring up “Extended Features”:

Open Extended Features by clicking on any of the three icons in the menu bar.

Sound images

But what good would all these features be if Echoes didn’t also sound really good? Well, it really does! Here you can play around with the most entertaining, astonishing, or just simply divinely beautiful delay effects imaginable! Before I opened the plug-in, I was a little worried about whether I would be able to appreciate the reverb in Echoes – it rarely sounds very good if you just put in reverb as an after-thought because you think you might need one. But all my doubts were put to shame. The reverb effect in Echoes is a really good and good-sounding algorithm reverb. Clearly useful in a variety of different sound situations.

And the rest of the delay effects sound just as good as you’ve gotten used to when it comes to plug-in effects from Softube. A top rating is gladly awarded there! Here you can actually find most of what you could possibly need in the way of delay. And the adjustment options are simply brilliant. It’s really as easy as looking for a preset that you think might work, and then tweaking it so it fits exactly where you want it.

Softube Echoes offers a variety of useful presets to start with for your music creation.

Summary

With Echoes, Softube has presented an extremely powerful and good-sounding delay effect. It offers six different delay variants: Filter, Reverb, BBD, Tape, Pan and Lo-FI and a number of extremely useful preset settings to start from. In addition, each individual delay effect has a good set of fine-tuning options. And on top of all this, you have both a ducking function, an output section where you can change the stereo image and, as the icing on the cake, the extra functions under Extended Features.

The sterling interface makes Echoes very easy to work with, it’s easy to set individual delayers/taps so that they sync with your music, and also place them exactly where you want them in the stereo image. You just get that genuinely happy feeling! Thank you Softube for an absolutely wonderful delay plugin!

Link: Watch a walkthrough.

System Requirements

  • Monterey 12, Ventura 13, Sonoma 14
  • Windows 10 (64-bit), Windows 11
  • Softube account
  • iLok account
  • Computer with AU, VST, VST3 and/or AAX compatible DAW software
  • Internet access (to download installations and manage licenses)

PRICE Normally: 1,570 SEK; currently 1,039 SEK

INFO www.softube.com/echoes

PLUS

  • Sounds absolutely great
  • Excellent interface
  • Six different delay variants
  • Lots of great presets/settings
  • Lots of great features

MINUS

  • I would have liked to be able to lock the wet/dry mix
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iZotope Cascadia

Software Review

In the iZotope Catalyst Series, the developers now present a third program, the delay app Cascadia. We check this up a little extra…

After the success of Aurora and Plasma, iZotope continues on the beaten path and presents Cascadia, an intelligent tape-delay app with what the developers call “adaptive unmasking”, a function that automatically ensures that you experience the sound as both clear and focused.

Cascadia is a very versatile delay. For us users, this is a most welcome addition to our other delay apps. We should perhaps also mention that several of the competitors have developed apps with a similar concept; Swedish Softube just launched their Echoes and from German Hofa Plugins we have now seen Color Delay. We hope to return to both of these, but today it is iZotope Cascadia that is placed on the test bench.

Ducking and Adaptive Unmasking

There is an inherent problem with most reverb and delay apps. The problem is that reverb tails and delays have a tendency to mush the sound, if it is placed on top of fairly dense tracks. You want the effect to come into its own between different vocal or instrumental phrases; not lie as a constant blanket over the entire track. In the past, sound engineers could solve this by sending the signal via a side-chain where they used a gate or a compressor to keep the effect under control when the sound was at its most intense. This is called “ducking”, and the result was that the reverb or delay was kept somewhat at bay during the important phrases and then allowed to bloom, when the vocal phrases temporarily fell silent.

Other delays and reverbs have had similar ducking features, but iZotope has refined the whole process and takes this a few steps further. Not only does it adjust the level of the effect, but it also dynamically filters the effect signal, giving you a very useful effect that is always there without taking attention away from the original signal.

iZotope Cascadia is using iLok for its authorization.

Masking

What is called “masking” occurs when two different signal sources are too close to each other in volume and frequency content. Typical phenomena of this kind occur when a pianist is to accompany a solo singer. If neither the instrumentalist nor the sound engineer are experienced enough, it can be a really boring experience – I have heard this countless times on live TV. The pianist is hammering away in the same frequency range as the singer, and perhaps also trying to drown out the vocals. An experienced producer can control the whole thing by partly arranging the piano accompaniment so that it is not exactly in the spectrum where we find the vocals. Of course, you can also demand that the pianist adopt a slightly more restrained playing style, which could leave room for the important vocals.

This problem also tends to rear its ugly head when adding a delay or reverb signal to an original signal. iZotope has previously introduced several plug-ins – Neutron, Nektar and Neoverb – that offer tools to deal with the masking problem. Neutron 5, for example, offers both Dynamic EQ and an Unmask function, but when it comes to the problem of the delay mucking up the input signal, Cascadia may be the perfect solution.

As a user, you are offered lots of good presets for iZotope Cascadia.

iZotope Cascadia

In Cascadia you don’t have to fiddle with complicated side chains and other things; all settings are accessible directly from within the app. Here you can easily create nicely bouncing delays, tight slapback echoes or other useful effects, without taking the focus off the vocal or instrument that should be in the driver’s seat for a single moment. Muddy mixes are a thing of the past.

The four main advantages of Cascadia are as follows:

  • Adaptive Unmasking Dynamically EQs the delay signal to keep the dry signal present.
  • Flexible Delays You can choose to sync the delay to your DAW, set a custom delay, use ping-pong effects, play the effect backwards, or give it a bit of a vintage pitch shift.
  • Intuitive Controls A very efficient interface with easy-to-understand controls.
  • Lots of useful Presets More than 50 professionally designed presets that include both spatial and more textural sounds.
A wonderfully simple and intuitive interface. The ping pong setting is symbolized by a table tennis racket and a ball. Clever enough!

The User Interface

If we start by looking at the interface itself, most of it fits in one and the same window, which of course can be adjusted in size completely according to your wishes. At the top of the window there are buttons for the Reverse function, for “sunning” the Delay, for Bypass, and for selecting a preset.

Along the left edge you will find settings for syncing to DAW programs and in that case which time signature you want to use. There is also a button for selecting pingpong delay (it is illustrated with a table tennis racket plus ball – just such a thing), a large knob for the delay amount, two sliders for Feedback and stereo width, plus two knobs for modulation (depth and rate).

On the right edge of the image we find a slider for the amount of unmasking, plus settings for Attack Release and Sensitivity. There are also two buttons for Bypass and for listening only to the signal that is “masked” away. The rest of the window shows a combined frequency and level image of the signal, and at the bottom you can set the cutoff frequencies of the Hi- and Lopass filters. Everything feels incredibly intuitive. Just keep in mind that Cascadia is primarily designed to be used as an insert effect. If you want it in a tap (send/return), you should press the Solo Delay button and send it a generous signal.

What does it sound like?

Well, it sounds incredibly good. Neat and tidy, without being disturbed by any effects that crowd in. They are just there and lift and amplify the basic sound in a very exquisite way. Nothing in the delay effects crowd in or wants to be in the foreground. And it is incredibly easy to create a balance between the original signal and all possible effects.

As a user, we also have a rich selection of different effects and masterfully programmed presets to choose from.

I suggest that you click on the link below where the developers show what Cascadia sounds like and how it works.

Summary

iZotope’s Catalyst series contains three powerful effect plugins today. Plasma (saturation), Aurora (reverb) and Cascadia, with different delay effects. Unlike Ozone, Neutron and Nectar, the Catalyst series effects have a significantly simpler and more clear interface. However, this does not mean that they are in any way “simple” as effects. Quite the opposite! They are all three incredibly powerful and capable effects. We hope to be able to come back with tests on the other two in the Catalyst series, today it’s about Cascadia.

With Cascadia you can create delay effects that never get in the way of your most important audio tracks. Thanks to iZotope’s Spectral Unmasking technology, they have the ability to always stay just the right amount in the background. An incredibly intelligent delay effect, in other words.

Whether it’s nice, discreet slapback echoes, large, swelling delay cascades, or just a little bit of reverb, it always sounds clean and nice. No long effect tails are there to interfere with your, or others’, solo efforts. And you also have a lot of really useful preset settings to start from.

Your mixes will sound so much better with Cascadia in place among the effects plug-ins, and the soloists you’ve recorded – whether they’re vocal or instrumental – will be forever grateful that they can now shine in all their glory. Please send the developers at iZotope a thank you note when you receive rave reviews for your mixes in the future! I certainly will.

Links

Here we can read a little more about what “frequency masking” means:

https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/what-is-frequency-masking.html

And here the developers show how to work with Cascadia:

https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/cascadia-delay-plugin.html

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

OS Versions

●  Mac: macOS Ventura 13.6.x, macOS Sonoma 14.4.x, macOS Sequoia 15.0; Compatible with both Intel and Apple silicon M-series Macs (native & Rosetta)

●  Win: Windows 10 (22H2), Windows 11 (23H2)

Plugin Formats

● AAX, AU, VST3. All plugins 64-bit only.

Note: VST2 format is no longer supported.

Plugin Hosts

● Logic Pro 10.8–11, Pro Tools 2024, Ableton Live 12, Cubase 13, Nuendo 13, Studio One 6, REAPER 7, FL Studio 21, Reason 12.5, Maschine 2, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Audition CC 2024, Premiere Pro CC 2024

PRICE

Cascadia plugin for Mac and PC: 55 euros

Catalyst Series Holiday Bundle (From Nov 26–Jan 05)

Bundle with the other Catalyst Series plugins: 139 euros (includes Cascadia, Aurora, Plasma)

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Cherry Audio Unleashes P-10 Synthesizer, Based on a Timeless Classic

Press Release

Cherry Audio has released P-10, a virtual synthesizer plugin based on one of the most desirable flagship analog polysynths ever created. Released by SCI in 1980, the original instrument was essentially two of the revolutionary P5 programmable synths in one behemoth dual-manual case, plus a “poly sequencer” built into the bottom-manual end cheek. It could be configured to play as two independent five-voice synths, a single ten-voice synth, dual-patch layered, or alternating between layers with each keystroke. Cherry Audio’s P-10 exactingly reproduces all that is exceptional in this legendary classic, including the original P5 and P10 factory presets, while boosting its feature set for today’s music production and workflow, and celebrating 50 years of groundbreaking innovation from the company that changed the music industry forever.

P-10 is available at cherryaudio.com and authorized resellers for $59. For a limited time, producers can also take advantage of Cherry Audio’s Pick 3 option to get P-10 and two other award-winning Cherry Audio instruments for just $99. P-10 is also included in the recently updated Synth Stack 5, a bundle of all 29 of Cherry Audio’s virtual instruments released through 2024.

With P-10, Cherry Audio has made every effort to capture the sweet-yet-powerful sounds of the eighties from countless artists as varied as Hall & Oates, Vangelis, Japan, John Carpenter and Alan Howarth, Tears for Fears, Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Rick Wakeman, Duran Duran, Brad Fiedel, Geoff Downes, Talking Heads, Pink Floyd, The Cars, Kraftwerk, and more.

Every aspect of P-10 has been modeled with the utmost care, from the Curtis 3340 oscillators and 3320 filters to its unmistakable oscillator sync. Although maintaining “the sound” was at the forefront of our mission, we’ve added thoughtful updates to modernize the user experience, including an expanded 16-voice per layer polyphony, a four-track step sequencer, velocity, polyphonic aftertouch, and keyboard split. P-10’s extensive modulation includes Mono Mod with LFO/Noise source mix, the renowned and innovative Poly Mod, with individual voice modulation paths, an Aux Mod section that extends upon the original’s Pedal Mod capabilities, and a newly added Pressure Mod section with support for mono and polyphonic aftertouch. 

We’ve also added a second panel with an arpeggiator and complete effects section for each layer, including a fully independent assignable independent LFO section and modulation of key effects parameters via aftertouch. P-10’s comprehensive MIDI mapping capabilities and over 500 professional presets — including the original P5 and P10 factory patches — make it a must-have virtual instrument that will thrill both vintage synth enthusiasts and today’s music producers.

P-10’s most notable features include:

  • Highly optimized, massive dual-layer voicing architecture with 16 polyphonic voices per layer.
  • Configurable as two independent synths, a single synth, dual-preset layered, or alternating between layers with each keystroke
  • Keyboard split or stacked layer modes allow two simultaneously playable layers, with separate per-layer controls for all parameters, including arpeggio and effects
  • Over 500 professionally designed presets, including the original P5 and P10 factory patches, accessible in a convenient preset browser
  • Exquisitely rendered and immersive UI with show/hide keyboard option
  • Extensive modulation through routing and support for mono and polyphonic aftertouch: Pressure Mod, Poly Mod, Mono Mod, and Aux Mod.
  • Per-layer drift control subtly varies oscillator and filter parameters for authentic analog character
  • Extensive layer utility functions for duplicating and exchanging synthesis and effects parameters between layers and presets
  • Step Sequencer consisting of four individual monophonic sequences: up to 128 steps, assignable to either layer, and stored individually with each preset
  • Arpeggiators with tempo sync, independently assignable to both layers
  • Two independent studio-quality effects chains with global or dual layer modes: distortion, 4/6/12-stage phaser, flanger/chorus, three types of delay with sync, and five types of reverb
  • Independent, per-layer FX-LFOs, FX Pressure-Mod, and FX Mono-Mod to modulate effects parameters
  • Directly import original P5 and P10 patch bank SysEx data via drag-and-drop

More extraordinary sounds are on tap exclusively from Cherry Audio with the Exponents for P-10 Preset Pack ($9.99, sold separately), featuring 100 more presets that further explore P-10 through layers and splits, sequences, arpeggios, effects, modulation, and aftertouch.

Cherry Audio’s P-10 synthesizer is available for macOS (10.13 and above) and Windows (7 or above) in AU, VST, VST3, AAX, and standalone formats. A free 30-day demo is available. Visit cherryaudio.com for additional product details, a deep-dive instructional video, system requirements, and an extensive collection of awe-inspiring sound demos. 

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Native Instruments Komplete 15

Software Review

Complete, Completer, Most Komplete?

Now, Native Instruments’ giant bundle of software synths, effects, expansions, and other sonic goodies has reached version 15, and it’s probably the biggest software collection ever seen. Of course, we have to take a closer look at all this glory.

It was at the end of September that the developers behind Native Instruments called a digital press conference. There, they showed off their latest product in the category “Biggest software package ever” to a gathered world press. For early and eager users, they also enticed us with a free package in the form of iZotope’s Neutron 4.

Some of the new stuff…
So what do you find in the new package? Well, over 50 instruments, effects and expansions, and in this package they flag a little extra for those who are interested in creating film music, but of course there is plenty of useful stuff also for those who yearn to succeed in composing a real pop song for the international charts.
The new Kontakt 8 is included in both Komplete 15 Standard, Ultimate, and the Collector’s Edition. In this industry standard among sampling-based instrument platforms, we now find, among other things, two completely new audio tools: Chords and Phrases Tools. Furthermore Leap is a tool for experimenting with creating loops, and Conflux is a new hybrid instrument with extra powerful wave-table functions. There you can, among other things, modulate organic and synth-based sounds in real time.

Kithara, on the other hand, is a collection of various guitars and other picked stringed instruments, which have then been transformed with various creative techniques and a powerful, warm sound design. Here we find classic nylon-string guitars, flamenco instruments, steel-string guitars, balalaika, cuatro and ronroco. All of them are masterfully sampled with extremely detailed accuracy, and just as much effort has been put into the possibilities of changing the sounds with the help of powerful sound design. In Kithara, raw, organic sounds are mixed with modern sound tools and the result can be anything from discreet delicate pickings to large sweeping sound textures.

Four versions
Komplete 15 is now available in four different versions: Select, Standard, Ultimate and Collector’s Edition. The entry variant Select is also available in three different editions: Beats, Band and Electronic.

Beats is of course aimed at producers/music creators who want to create beats for hip-hop and R&B. Band focuses on sampled instruments for songwriting and jamming. Finally, Electronic is a powerful tool for electronic music creation.

Komplete 15 Standard includes the new Kontakt 8 along with more than 95 professional-grade instruments and effects, more than 40 expansions and over 50,000 different sounds. Here we also find Ozone 11 Standard, Massive X and many other powerful audio tools.

In Komplete 15 Ultimate we find over 150 different top-class instruments and effects, everything from ultra-modern synths to symphonic sample libraries, and in addition more than 70 different sound expansions. Alicia’s Electric Keys, Ashlight and Action Woodwinds are some of the new products in Ultimate.

Komplete 15 Collectorʼs Edition is the complete Komplete package with over 165 instruments and 120 top-class expansions. Here, the developer promises that the package offers “unparalleled resources for professional production, film music composing, performance and sound design. Fables, Valves Pro and the brand new Kithara are some of the additions to Native Instruments’ fullest collection to date.
For those who have not tried Komplete before, there is also Komplete Start, a large collection of free plugin synths and effects.

Komplete 15 Standard is a really full-fledged software package, but the Collector’s Edition is the most complete.

Some more news
We have already mentioned Alicia’s Electric Keys, Ashlight, Action Woodwinds, Fables, Valves Pro and Kithara. In any case, this is how the developers themselves describe their new items:

  • Kithara: a cinematic collection of guitars and plucked string instruments transformed with creative performance techniques and powerful sound design.
  • Fables: Weave stories together using sound from an immersive cinematic ensemble library for both performance and production.
  • Valves Pro: Soft and shifting sounds from trombone, flugelhorn, horn, tuba and euphonium, with an expanded library of articulations.
  • Vocal Colors: An expressive “vocal engine” that enhances the feeling of the human voice with inventive modulation features.
  • Schedule; Dark & ​​Light: Dark and destructive pulses meet opulent, melodic patterns in this duo of melodic sequencer plugins.
  • Action Woodwinds: The true-to-life sound of a full orchestral woodwind ensemble with a wide range of phrasing and articulations.
  • Alicia’s Electric Keys: Discover Alicia Keys’ own CP-70 electric grand piano loaded with her own custom effects chains.
  • Acoustic Sunburst Deluxe: Percussion/pick drum accompaniment and plucked notes from a premium acoustic jumbo guitar, with over 250 patterns and an additional melody instrument.
  • Upright Bass: The deep, organic lower register of a fantastic double bass made in Mittenwald in the 1970s.
  • Session Percussionist: An intuitive drum and percussion library with over 2000 customizable patterns and an advanced step sequencer.
  • Play Series Instruments: From hip-hop and R&B to house and techno, Play Series instruments deliver outstanding sound quality with an easy-to-use interface.
  • Expansion Sound Packs: Created by top artists and sound designers, expansions are genre-focused sound packs loaded with synth presets, drum kits, one-shots, samples and loops.
The new Alicia Electric Keys, here here accompanied by Kontakt 8 and Chords Tool.

Well, how does it sound?
How does the word overwhelming fit? Well, that is almost the feeling you get from listening through all the new and excellent-sounding items that Komplete 15 offers in its Collector’s Edition. If, like me, you already have the latest version of Logic Pro with all its instruments, effects and other sound goodies included, Komplete 15 undeniably feels like the perfect complement. With these two powerhouses, you should in principle be able to create any type of music you can imagine, everything from “serious” classical orchestral music via film scoring, pop, and R’n’B, to the very most modern of all synth-based music genres. And everything sounds close to otherworldly good, as you’ve learned it does when it comes from Native Instruments.

The new tools in Kontakt 8, which have also received a major facelift with both an improved browser and a scalable user interface, also include, as mentioned, some new audio tools. In Chords, you can create your own chord sequences or let the program come up with lots of interesting suggestions. The same applies to Phrases, although instead with lots of different melodic phrases of course.
These two tools may feel a bit like an “auto-playing piano” to some degree, but there are probably many musicians who can benefit and get lots of help in their music creation, from Chords and Phrases.
On the other hand, I found the loop tool Leap and the new hybrid instrument Conflux to be extremely powerful and exciting. I’m sure these two could influence many in a most creative way.

The new sight CONFLUX (not KomVux) is an extremely powerful piece with lots of modulation possibilities.

A large audio collection of sounds for film scoring
Many of the novelties do perhaps fit best in the area where all film score composers currently reside; low-key, enveloping, esoteric and exciting sounds that set the imagination in real motion. This is, of course, a trend that repeats itself among many developers of sampling and sound packs today, I have noticed. Film music seems to be a new popular music genre; Maybe there is a John Williams, Ludwig Göransson or Hans Zimmer hiding in every home or project studio today?
A lot of music in that genre can be created with all the new expansions for Kontakt 8, and if you also have access to one of the new keyboards in the Komplete Kontrol 3 Series, this has also been progressively upgraded since it was launched, to be able to control more functions directly from the keyboard. 30 new expansions ensure that a tester never gets tired of new exciting sounds.

Guitarist goodies
For all the guitar players we have Guitar Rig 7 Pro, which is completely stuffed with amplifiers, effects pedals and other small and useful things for all us string benders. It has been given another substantial face-lift from previous versions. The improved searchability in the browser has made the search for exciting guitar sounds so much easier.


For the backing guitarist in mind, there is now also a new acoustic rhythm guitar of the very best brand: Session Guitarist – Acoustic Sunburst Deluxe. Strum on!

Here we have combined the new Session Guitarist – Acoustic Sunburst Deluxe with the Phrases Tool.

Summary
An extremely good-sounding and slightly overwhelming music and sound package from Native Instruments has landed. Komplete 15 certainly lives up to its name. I have a hard time seeing how they could top this in Komplete 16 and beyond. With such a large amount of sound expansions and also lots of interesting software synths and sound effects, 

Komplete 15 already feels complete. If all of this seems totally overwhelming, or if you feel uncertain about the need for any of the included parts, there is always the option of starting with the free Select version. This is available in three different editions: Beats, Band and Electronic. There you can first get a feel for it, and if you then get curious about what the larger packages had to offer, there is always the option of upgrading later on.
Starting this way could be a very good option. 

I also have to give a big shout out to the developers of this pack. There are lots of sound demoes of what you can find in the various Komplete packages on the Native Instruments website. Danke schön!

FACT & FIGURES
INFORMATION Native Instruments, www.native-instruments.com/en
PRICE 599 euros for Komplete 15 Standard, 199 euros for the update; 1,199 euros for Komplete 15 Ultimate, 399 euros for the update; and 1,799 euros for the Collector’s Edition, and 499 for the update, but keep an eye open for extra discounts during Black Friday / Cyber ​​Week

PLUS

  • Biggest software package ever
  • Unbelievable amount of sounds and effects
  • 30 new expansions
  • Kithara and Conflux are interesting newcomers
  • New Kontakt 8 means a clear improvement
  • Guitar Rig 7 Pro & Session Guitarist – Acoustic Sunburst Deluxe
  • A goldmine for film score composers

MINUS

  • Rock musicians can feel a bit left out

LINKS: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/bundles/komplete-start/

Here’s a video where they show some of the highlights from Kontakt 8:

Komplete 15: 

https://www.native-instruments.com/specials/komplete/komplete-15

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New Cubase 14 Is Designed to Inspire 

Press Release

Steinberg releases the latest version of Cubase, with innovative new features for music creation, beats and grooves, audio optimization, scoring, and effects that make composing, producing, and mixing more inspirational than ever. 

HAMBURG, Germany — Steinberg has today announced the immediate availability of Cubase 14 with significant new features and enhancements that make the award-winning music production software truly designed to inspire. 

Cubase 14 offers three different versions which give users a natural creative pathway — from those taking their first steps with the powerful yet intuitive tools of Cubase Elements through intermediate-level users with Cubase Artist all the way to the comprehensive, industry-standard features of Cubase Pro, which is used on countless well-known recordings by high-profile artists. Cubase provides everything musicians and producers need, for every genre of music, skill level and budget. 

The new features in Cubase 14 put creativity first, enabling users to create music which is unique and innovative while making the writing, mixing, and production processes more inspiring and intuitive than ever before.

New features to power your creativity 

Cubase 14 introduces six powerful, intuitive Modulators which allow users to modulate any parameter of a track or channel that contains an audio signal. With an LFO and Step Modulator among others, this is a major new feature that will help to push the creative envelope of many music productions. 

A new addition to Cubase’s track types, the Drum Track is an all-in-one environment for the creation of complex drum patterns and offers comprehensive features that allow users to build custom drum kits. At its core are the new Drum Machine, a versatile hybrid of drum sampler and percussion synthesizer and the Pattern Editor for programming propulsive, dynamic beats, randomizing grooves, and exploring new rhythmic worlds with just a few clicks. 

Refined audio mixing, editing and processing 

The full MixConsole can now be opened in the Lower Zone of the Project window, allowing channels to be re-arranged via drag and drop for faster, more intuitive mixing. 

The event volume curve editing in Cubase 14 has been enhanced so that users can optimize their audio with draw tools that are familiar from automation editing to edit fades and adjust static event volume offsets. 

New effects in Cubase 14 include Shimmer, a reverb plug-in that lives up to its name. Then there is StudioDelay, a distinctive, easy-to-use delay with quick access to built-in effects like modulation, distortion, reverb, and pitch. Autofilter is a filter specially designed for modulating its cutoff frequency via the input track or sidechain signal. Cubase 14 introduces Underwater, a brand-new signal processor for building atmosphere and space for vocals or lead instruments with the well-known “party next door” effect. And to round out the new additions, a Volume effect allows control of volume independently of the MixConsole volume fader. 

Notation is now even more elegant and powerful 

Cubase 14 introduces a revamped Score Editor built on technology from Dorico, the cutting- edge music notation and composition application from Steinberg. The new Score Editor provides a powerful, notation-based MIDI editor which will allow users to quickly and easily examine and edit music as notation while producing great-looking parts for live recording projects. 

More to discover 

Customers will appreciate that Cubase 14 is a true evolution, with the many new features and enhancements to the already comprehensive feature set, making it the perfect solution for music-makers of all levels. 

  • DAWproject file format support for seamless project transfer between DAWs. 
  • The enhanced Range Selection tool provides many new functions and workflows. 
  • The play probability of each individual note in the Key Editor can be set to add variation to projects. 
  • The performance monitor shows exactly when and where projects are pushing the processor’s limits. 
  • Backup files are now stored in a dedicated Auto Saves folder. 
  • More colors are included with SuperVision to visualize meters based on frequency or intensity. 
  • The Control Room has been given an aesthetic makeover. 
  • SpectraLayers Go 11 adds new spectral audio editing tools for music, sound design, restoration, and repair. 
  • Enhancements to immersive audio, including Dolby Atmos monitoring speaker layouts and support for up to fourth-order Ambisonics. 
  • Further improvements to audio connections, project management and import/export, enhanced video engine performance, and much more. 

Availability and pricing 

Cubase Pro 14, Cubase Artist 14, and Cubase Elements 14 are available from resellers and through the Steinberg Online Shop. The suggested retail price for Cubase Pro 14 is 579 euros or 579.99 US dollars. The suggested retail price for Cubase Artist 14 is 329 euros or 329.99 US dollars. The suggested retail price for Cubase Elements 14 is 99.99 euros or 99.99 US dollars. Prices may vary according to region. 

A range of downloadable updates and upgrades, crossgrades, and education versions are exclusively available through the Steinberg Online Shop. 

Customers who have activated Cubase Pro 13, Cubase Artist 13, and Cubase Elements 13 or earlier versions from October 9, 2024, are eligible for a free, downloadable grace period update for their particular version of Cubase. 

New features at a glance 

  • Modulators for adding movement to your music [Pro] 
  • Pattern Sequencer and Pattern Editor to radically enhance your rhythmic world [Pro・Artist]
  • Drum Track all-in-one environment for drum creation and sequencing [Pro・Artist]
  • Drum Machine for designing and sampling drum sounds [Pro・Artist]
  • Powerful event volume curve editing and streamlined workflows for better gain staging [Pro・Artist] 
  • Shimmer effect for creating ethereal soundscapes [Pro・Artist]
  • Revamped Score Editor based on state-of-the-art Dorico technology [Pro・Artist・Elements]
  • Enhanced MixConsole for faster, more intuitive mixing [Pro・Artist・Elements]
  • Supremely versatile StudioDelay [Pro・Artist] 
  • Underwater plug-in, simple but effective for vocals and lead instruments [Pro・Artist・Elements]
  • AutoFilter plug-in for enhanced filter movement [Pro・Artist]
  • A range of other tool and performance improvements [Pro・Artist・Elements]

Promotional video

More info

https://www.steinberg.net/press/2024/cubase-14

About Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH 

Steinberg is known the world over for its music and audio software and hardware solutions. The company has been developing, manufacturing and selling innovative products for musicians and producers in the music, film, post-production and multimedia industries since 1984. Steinberg products are used by Grammy and Oscar award-winning composers, engineers and producers. 

Visit www.steinberg.net for further details. 

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e-instruments SLOWER

Press Release

Hamburg, GERMANY, September 2024.

e-instrumentsannouncethe release of SLOWER, an innovative instrument library for NI Kontakt Player that offers music producers and composers a unique sonic experience brimming with new sounds and analogue textures. SLOWER captures high-end sample content recorded on four distinct tape machines, each played back at half speed resulting in all sounds being one octave lower to create rich and evocative tones.

SLOWER: A New Dimension in Analogue Sound

Designed for those seeking emotional, analogue-inspired textures, SLOWER delves into the world of half-speed tape to deliver an extraordinary range of sounds. The library features an eclectic mix of keys, guitars, strings, woodwinds, brass, and rarities such as the dulcimer and harmonium. These sounds are transformed by the half-speed tape process, resulting in everything being one octave lower to produce deep, warm, and nostalgically rich tones, available across four distinct types of tape machines: Studio, Portable, Cassette, and Dictaphone.

SLOWER – Key Features

  • Analogue Authenticity: Experience genuine, pitched-down tape sounds that bring rich, organic layers to your music.
  • Four Tape Machines: Explore a variety of tones with Studer, Uher, Tascam, and Sony tape machines, each offering distinctive audio qualities.
  • Diverse Instruments: Access 65 sound sources, including keys, synths, guitars, strings, woodwinds, brass, and rare instruments, all recorded on four tape machines.
  • Preset Library: 230 presets from top sound designers, offering a wide range of sounds to inspire creativity.
  • 27 Effects: Unlock extensive sound processing with curated delays, distortions, reverbs, and filters, all customisable in a five-slot FX chain.
  • Modulation Matrix: Dive deep into sound design with assignable LFOs, modulation envelopes, a step modulator, aftertouch, and more.
  • Macro Controls: Transform sounds in real-time with three single-slider macros, enabling dynamic and expressive performances.
  • Additional Tape FX: Add extra wobble, noise, and flutter to enhance the tape characteristics as needed.
  • Reverse Samples: Create ethereal, slow-attack sounds with the reverse parameter.
  • NKS and Kontakt Compatibility: Compatible with Native Instruments Kontakt 7.10.2 or the free Kontakt player, with full NKS integration.

The Art of Half-Speed Tape 

Half-speed tape recording transforms familiar sounds into something entirely new and captivating. By slowing down analogue tape playback, SLOWER introduces a wealth of texture that digital methods simply cannot replicate. The natural wobble, flutter, and noise inherent to tape add depth and warmth, enhancing acoustic timbres and bringing out lower frequencies to create thick, mellow sounds. This technique imbues music with a unique emotional quality, adding a magical, nostalgic layer to any composition.

Exploring The Tape Machines 

SLOWER’s sounds are captured using four distinct tape machines, each imparting its own sonic character:

  • Studio: The Studer A812 and Revox PR99 open reel-to-reel machines offer warmth and fidelity, ideal for polished, high-end sounds.
  • Portable: The Uher 4400 Report IC and Monitor models deliver a compact, yet richly detailed tonal palette.
  • Cassette: The Tascam Portastudio 424 mk III embodies the unmistakable warmth and grit of cassette tape.
  • Dictaphone: The Sony M650v microcassette provides a raw, lo-fi texture, perfect for adding a nostalgic crunch.

Each machine brings its own flavour to the table, allowing users to explore and experiment with a wide range of sonic possibilities, from the refined to the lo-fi.


A Rich Collection Of Instruments And Sounds

SLOWER boasts 65 different sound sources, each recorded on four separate tape machines, as well as an extensive selection of synthesised sounds. This library transforms classic instruments – including grand and upright pianos, electric and acoustic guitars, and orchestral strings – into a broad spectrum of textures. Additionally, recordings from renowned synthesiser models provide evolving pads and intricate textures, making SLOWER a versatile tool for any genre, from Hip-Hop to Ambient and Electronica.

Advanced Sound Design Capabilities 

SLOWER is equipped with a powerful sound design engine, featuring 27 built-in effects, envelopes, LFOs, step modulator, aftertouch, and more. Users can customise a five-slot FX chain, utilising delay, distortion, reverb, filters, and other effects curated by sound designers to complement the library’s content. Reverse samples enable the creation of ethereal sounds with a slow attack, while separate controls for noise and wobble enhance the tape’s inherent imperfections. Most parameters can be modulated, offering extensive sound processing possibilities that range from subtle enhancements to dramatic transformations.


Preset Library 

SLOWER comes with 230 presets crafted by top sound designers, providing instant inspiration and a solid foundation for any project. Whether users are seeking warm, moody pianos, unique string textures, or deep wind instruments, the diverse range of presets ensures that there is always a sound to fit the creative vision.

Price & Availability

Intro Price: €99 / $99 (Ends 10th October 2024)
Regular Price: €149 / $149 Product Page: https://e-instruments.com/instruments/tape/slower/ 
Official Promo Video: https://youtu.be/hYgaOZTkUHQ
Walkthrough Video: https://youtu.be/tHR0xWgefoA  

NKS and Kontakt Compatibility:
Compatible with Native Instruments Kontakt 7.10.2 or the free Kontakt player, and fully integrated with Native Instruments NKS.

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Sonuscore’s Chroma – Upright Piano

Software Review

A TRULY SPECIAL PIANO

Once in a while you find this very special instrument. It might even be so special that you wonder why no one told you about it before. 

Chroma Upright Piano is just such an instrument.

Chroma – Upright Piano stands out a little bit extra, not just because it has such a rich history, or because it has been magnificently restored, but more for its unique character and the emotions it can convey.

It all started in a small studio where Sonuscore’s team was going to sample a grand piano. Be that as it may, someone happened to see another and much less conspicuous piano – a regular so-called “upright”, or Joanna as they used to say. When you played a few notes on this piano, you discovered that it sounded absolutely magnificent – although perhaps a little out of tune. However, it was convincing enough to decide to give it a major facelift in the form of a thorough restoration and tuning. This piano just had to be sampled and shared with the world.

Würzburger Pianohaus

The piano came from a small manufacturer, Wilhelm Diemer, who had a workshop in Würzburg, Germany. Diemer pianos were known for their brilliant quality and distinctive sound. This particular copy was approx: 100 years old and after the careful restoration it turned out to have all the acoustic properties that had been hoped for, and now it is available in sampled form as Chroma – Upright Piano.

In fact, Jonas Hausotter, one of the engineers behind the sampling of Chroma, found out that the studio that originally housed Chroma – Upright was going to close, and so he was given the opportunity to purchase the old treasure. The piano is now with Hausotter in Mainz.

The recording

Recording an upright piano may sound straightforward, but truly capturing its acoustic soul requires a sensitive approach. Jonas reveals the diverse array of microphones used to ensure every nuance could be preserved:

“We used a whole set of different microphones – many more than on a grand piano. In front of the piano we had two Coles 4038s really close to the strings and another ribbon mic in the middle to fill out the stereo image. Above, we placed a pair of Neumann km140 at a distance, somewhere between 0.5 and 1 meter from the piano, and a pair of Schoeps mk5 even higher to capture the whole instrument.

Below we had a pair of Gefell m930s under the keyboard and a pair of Sennheiser mkh8020s behind the piano. And let’s not forget the RUMBLE position – a single LOM Audio Geophone attached to the metal chassis, providing a unique depth of sound.”

This detailed microphone placement allows the Chroma – Upright Piano to offer a rich, multidimensional soundstage. Whether you want the intimate closeness of the ‘Front’ position or the wider perspective from ‘Above’, each microphone captures a different aspect of this piano’s character.

The articulations: The source of creative expression

What really sets Chroma – Upright Piano apart from other piano libraries is the Chroma method: the articulations. They didn’t just record the standard tones; they pushed the boundaries and included both felt, muted, plucked, flageolet and string articulations. Each one offers a unique texture and emotional depth, which can provide a large palette to paint your musical stories.

“The felt sounds really good! We also recorded muted notes because we loved them so much on the grand piano we sampled earlier. Picked notes – probably my least favorite because it was killing my fingers – and flageolets, which sound really cool with their harmonic content. And this time we used a real violin bow instead of an E-bow,” explains Jonas.

In NI’s Kontakt, these articulations can be mixed and played in parallel, allowing you to explore a wide range of emotions and textures, from the soft, intimate whisper of felt notes to the incredibly beautiful overtones of flageolets and literally everything in between. It’s a playground for creativity, offering you the tools to create deeply expressive and unique compositions.

Round Robins bring your music to life

Round Robins are an often overlooked feature, but they play a critical role in bringing a sampled instrument to life. Chroma – Upright Piano has eight different Round Robins that alternate, and they also sampled 27 touch layers for the standard and felt articulations, even more than they did for Croma – Grand Piano. This makes every note you play feel organic and dynamic, capturing the subtle nuances that make real pianos so captivating.

“It makes the instrument more alive because you capture so many small nuances with the small differences in touch,” notes Jonas. This attention to detail means Chroma – Upright Piano responds to your touch just like a physical piano, adding depth and realism to your playing.

Is Chroma – Upright Piano a better piano then?

Yes, it is in any case very different with its whole set-up; sampled with lots of different microphones, its many different articulations – and the possibility to mix these, 91 different factory settings (preset) and 27 different touch levels for a very nuanced and dynamic sound.

And yes, I probably also think it sounds better than most upright pianos I’ve listened to. There is a warmth in the sound that you rarely find in the sampled world. And the feeling when playing the Chroma – Upright Piano is also very special. You get extremely close to the feeling you can experience when you play a really good physical piano.

Chroma – Upright Piano is a very useful piano for both quiet piano ballads in the singer/songwriting tradition, for composing film scores, for traditional pop music and everything in between.

It’s also an excellent complement to Sonuscore’s Chroma – Grand Piano, if, against all odds, you think a grand piano takes up a bit too much space in the mix – we’re of course also talking about the sampled version.

In addition to the possibility of mixing different articulations, you also have the possibility to vary the amount of mechanical sound that normally occurs when pedaling and hammering on keys.

Conclusion

With Chroma – Upright Piano, Sonuscore presents a very useful and good-sounding alternative to all sampled full-size grand pianos that can be encountered in the music world. It has a warm, soft and full character and lots of different articulations that you can control in real time with modulation wheels, or other control devices via NKS. I was especially fond of the felt-muffled articulation and the flageolet variant, but also the plucked articulation felt both exciting and useful at the same time.

Chroma – Upright Piano has been sampled with no less than 27 different pitch levels and this naturally contributes to the truly realistic feeling you get when playing the piano. This one comes highly recommended!

System requirements

• Works with the free version of KONTAKT PLAYER

• KONTAKT Version 7.10.4 or later

• macOS 10.15 or later

• Windows 10 or later

• 8GB RAM (more recommended)

• At least 17 GB of free hard disk space. SSD is recommended

• Some of the presets for CHROMA – UPRIGHT PIANO need a powerful CPU to run smoothly; an Intel i7 processor or better is recommended.

Facts

Sampled upright piano

INFO & DEVELOPMENT Sonuscore, www.sonuscore.co,

PRICE Chroma Upright: 149 euros; crossgrade from Chroma Grand Piano to Chroma Upright: 99 Euro; Chroma Upright + Chroma Grand Bundle: 239 Euros

PLUS 

  • Sounds absolutely beautiful
  • NKS compatible
  • Works with the free Kontakt Player version
  • 27 velocity layers
  • About 90 different presets
  • You can mix different articulations
  • Four different microphone positions

MINUS

  • Why hasn’t anyone told me about Chroma – Upright Piano before?

Links

INFO https://www.sonuscore.com/shop/chroma-upright-piano/

Here you can listen to some of the presets that Chroma – Upright Piano offers:

Posted on

Cherry Audio Unveils Atomika Synthesizer

PRESS RELEASE

Cherry Audio, a leading innovator in music software development, is excited to announce the release of Atomika. This highly anticipated virtual instrument pays tribute to the legendary Polivoks synthesizer, manufactured in the former Soviet Union from 1982 to 1990. Cherry Audio’s Atomika faithfully recreates the unique character of the Polivoks while adding new filter options, full polyphony, an arpeggiator, integrated studio-quality effects, and more.

Designed in collaboration with award-winning DSP developer Mark Barton — who recently made waves in producer Anthony Marinelli’s “Why Modern Digital Synthesis Is More Analog Than Analog” YouTube video — Atomika is a faithful emulation of the original duophonic analog synthesizer. The synthesizer retains the iconic Polivoks filter and adds new controls and expanded filter modes, including highpass, notch, and peak responses. This updated version is provisioned with state-of-the-art software features tailored to meet the needs of modern music production.

Atomika elevates its capabilities with enhanced polyphony, expanding from duophonic to a robust 16-voice polyphony. It adds unison oscillator stacking, an expanded LFO with more waveforms, and comprehensive performance controls, including velocity, tracking, aftertouch, and pitch and mod wheel response. These enhancements ensure that Atomika not only captures the essence of the original but also provides modern conveniences and an intuitive user interface.

Another standout feature is Atomika’s second panel, which includes a versatile arpeggiator and four studio-quality effects — Phasor, Flange/Chorus, Echo, and Reverb — with a dedicated effects LFO for expanded parameter modulation. The stunning 3D user interface is immersive and customizable, with the options to display panel labels in the original classic text and a “hide keyboard” feature to maximize workspace.

Atomika provides users with a wide range of sonic options with over 350 carefully designed presets by Cherry Audio’s team of experienced sound designers. Its extensive MIDI mapping capabilities ensure smooth integration into any studio setup, offering a versatile and expressive synth plugin for all music producers.

With its blend of rare, classic character and cutting-edge innovation, Atomika promises to inspire creativity and elevate music production with new sounds that go far beyond the original hardware. It offers an unparalleled experience for synthesizer enthusiasts who have long wanted to try the original hardware. Priced at only $49, Atomika is the ideal choice for music producers looking to incorporate the sounds of one of the world’s rarest synthesizers into their projects.

Even more extraordinary sounds are available directly from Cherry Audio with the Chain Reactions for Atomika Preset Pack ($9.99, sold separately), featuring 100 more presets by talented sound designer James Dyson that explore Atomika’s atmospheric side through arpeggios, effects, modulation, and aftertouch.

Cherry Audio’s Atomika synthesizer is available for macOS (10.13 and above) and Windows (7 or above) in AU, VST, VST3, AAX, and standalone formats. A free 30-day demo is available. Visit cherryaudio.com for additional product details, a deep-dive instructional video, system requirements, and an extensive collection of awe-inspiring sound demos.