One aspect of brass instrument performances that most libraries struggle with is the very subtle and delicate sound of small ensemble playing, capturing more of the players audible sounds like lip buzz and valve clicks. Native Instrument’s Valves Pro does just this, a premium collection of brass instruments including instruments like Euphonium with over 60 articulations to accurately capture the solo and ensemble sounds of soft and subtle brass performance. Typically, most virtual brass libraries include samples for Trumpet, Trombone and Tuba and in premium collections French Horn – covering lower, mid-to-low and mid-upper registers. Valves Pro goes further and…
Author: Lachlan Powell
Korg has announced new after-touch models to their flagship workstation and performance synth, Nautilus with 61 and 88-key versions. Korg is also making this available to existing Nautilus owners who can upgrade their standard Nautilus to the after-touch version with a keybed replacement. The spiritual successor to KORG’s hugely popular workstation, the Kronos, now has all the performative options that after-touch offers with the Nautilus AT. There are two kinds of keyboard players in the world – those that care for after-touch and those that don’t. For those that don’t know, after-touch keybeds detect whether a player exerts more pressure on the keys after the…
Yes, you read that correctly a new Eurorack Synthesizer module from instrument designer David Cranmer generates CV signals from Uranium ore to create unpredictable events in your patch! A special jar made from borosilicate filled with uranium order is set in front of a Geiger counter which detects radiation events from the decaying ore. These events are mapped to a number of outputs including gates, triggers and CV allowing unique and random events to be created and sent around your patch. While it may seem like a novel idea, it is a unique way to generate random events and keep…
KORG have just released the 61-key SE model of their wave sequencing synth the Wavestate, it will also come in a limited-edition Platinum finish for those so aesthetically inclined. The Wavestate builds on Korg’s very cool wave sequencing design from the 1990s. As a keyboardist myself learning of a 61-note model for the Wavestate immediately piqued my interest as it means being able to explore a full-size keyboard and perform more dynamically than the 25-key predecessor. Wow does it play well — the made-in-Japan natural-touch keybed with after-touch really makes this synth appealing to keyboardists. Being able to control a…
Plug-in masterminds Universal Audio, have announced two new additions to their library introducing faithful emulations of a 1974 Rhodes Eighty Eight Suitcase Mark1 electric piano and the famous CM5511, an in-house hand-built tube mastering compressor designed by Capitol Studios. The two titles will be available natively as part of Universal Audio Spark meaning users won’t need an Apollo interface. For Apollo users, this is just another great addition to the already vast collection of plug-ins available in the Universal Audio eco-system. Here’s what Universal Audio are saying: “These are exciting times for our UAD customers,” says Bill Putnam Jr., CEO…
Tiptop Audio have announced ART an exciting set of modules and workflow for polyphonic music-making using the Eurorack synthesizer medium. In days past, you would need multiple sets of the same modules or creative workarounds to create polyphonic music, which as we all know, can be a costly exercise. ART seeks to change this by introducing a new patch-cable design which allows multiple audio signals to pass through one cable to one of the modules, most of which use this new connector to increase the number of signal paths in the same module. Complete with poly-utility modules, poly-filters & more…
Popular Eurorack and electronic instrument manufacturer Make Noise, have revealed Spectraphon by Tom Erbe of Soundhack, a Eurorack module that uses spectral analysis to re-synthesize new sounds. Built on a new digital hardware platform, Spectraphon will boast more i/o and a lower noise-floor and introduces two new oscillation methods using spectral analysis – Spectral Amplitude Modulation (SAM), or Spectral Array Oscillation (SAO). https://youtu.be/kye9hV2RlIA Here’s what Make Noise is saying: The Make Noise/soundhack Spectraphon is a dual Spectral Oscillator coded by Tom Erbe of soundhack. It uses real-time spectral analysis and resynthesis to create new sounds from those that already exist.…
If the sentence ‘translucent microKORG with a translucent bag so you can see the translucent microKORG’ doesn’t get you excited, I have no idea what will. 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the continuous production of the modern digital classic, the microKORG. To celebrate, KORG has announced a limited-edition model with an amazing see-through design and bag included. 20 years ago, KORG gave the world the microKORG. With its great micro-keybed, amazing vocoder and iconic pre-sets the instrument became the first synth for many aspiring musicians and artists. Able to produce a wide range of sounds from fat basses to…
Canadian Eurorack legends Intellijel have announced their first stand-alone semi-modular desktop synth, Cascadia. Despite taking everyone for a ride earlier this month they played an April fool’s joke by seemingly revealing Cascadia as a gigantic 64HP mult. Intellijel have an incredible collection of eurorack modules and accessories, with Cascadia drawing on their expertise and knowledge, somewhat following the footsteps of their classic module, Atlantis, although the Cascadia is way more with 2 oscillators, 2 filters, 2 envelope generators, wave folder, ring mod, noise, envelope follower, sample+hold, LFO with multiple outputs and much more! The semi-modular route is a natural evolution…
Free Ableton Rack! LiveSchool has followed up their last artist rack with Vintage Toner by Fletcher, this free Ableton rack gives you a set of tools to add all kinds of effects to your tracks to give them a classic, vintage character. Vintage Toner comes from Fletcher of the electronic duo SlumberJack and organises several effects like noise, pitch-mending, vintage reverb effects and more into an easy-to-use rack. The rack comes with an in-project guide so you can get started right away. LiveSchool is an Ableton-based music production school in Sydney, NSW and offers specialist courses from renowned artists In-Studio…
