Sampling is the technique of reusing pieces of audio (melody, beats, voice or other pieces of music) and use them to create new musical ideas. It’s a technique that has been an integral part of electronic music production, shaping many genres of music from Hip
Maschine+ is Native Instruments’ answer to stand-alone beat making and groove box based electronic music production. We’ve spent some more time exploring the hardware features, sounds, samples and effects and put together a tutorial detailing an approach to making music using Maschine+’s stand-alone workflow. This
Having only just announced Komplete 13, Native Instruments have jumped back in the ring with a knockout; a new standalone (no computer required) version of Maschine, dubbed Maschine+. This marks a milestone for Native Instruments, their first ever standalone product in the company’s 24-year history. Could
The mighty Korg Volca Sample is getting the update treatment with Korg announcing a ‘new generation Volca Sample’ that adds more sample memory, updated sample library, more workflow features and a micro USB port for more improved connectivity. This compact beat making box has always been one of my favourite Volcas as it’s super fun to use and has plenty of knobs for manipulating sounds, however
After a number of teasers, Polyend have finally released all the info on their latest device called Tracker, a sampler and sequencer that channels the scrolling top-down workflow of 1990s Tracker DAWs, and packs it into a handsome piece of hardware with an enormous full
It just wouldn’t be a NAMM show without some new samplers to sink our teeth into, lucky for us Akai have provided the goods. Akai Professional continue their DAWless beat making and music production product line with a new standalone MPC One which Akai claims as their most powerful
Nord have been quiet on the synthesiser front of late, their last synth, the Lead A1, appeared in 2014. But the Swedish manufacturer has never been one to rush new products out unnecessarily and the quality of their products makes failure or obsolescence unlikely. However,
Being less bound by traditional song structure and very friendly to on-the-fly improvisation, Techno is a genre of music that lends itself extremely well to hardware music gadgets. Even the weirdest bleeps, bloops and textures can find a home in Techno, in fact, they’re encouraged.
Karanyi’s new Continuo instrument is a complex texture instrument for the Native Instruments Kontakt software sampler, all sampled from experimental ambient guitar and pedal chains — ideal for creating endless pads, unusual soundscapes, characteristic atmospheres and experimental sublayers. This is the first release of Karanyi
For our next Ableton instrument giveaway, I’m sharing my lucky score at a recent vintage market in regional Victoria. Yup, in a stack of busted-up ’90s hifi units, the distinctive colourful face plate of a Studio Electronics ATC-1 analogue synthesiser caught my eye. Fully functional,