Category Archives: Reviews

Signal by Output for Native Instruments Kontakt Review

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 Signal Review

Output, a relatively new content producer has recently been making waves with their well thought out and stunning GUI designs, inventive Kontakt scripting and genuinely evocative sonic content.

Their latest product SIGNAL doesn’t disappoint with its over 40 GB of content and beautifully intuitive interface.

Consisting of 4 “Pulse” engines the user has full control over unique rhythmic layered synthesis.

build in layering of both synthetic sound sources and acoustic recorded sources allow for interesting textures.

the 4 macro controls vary from patch to patch and give quick control of some of the most interesting sonic sculpting features. For those of us that like to dive deeper, there is also an advanced edit mode that gives you full control.

the Rythmic aspect of Signal really sets it apart by giving you complex LFO patterns, a step sequencer per part, Arpegiators, and an interesting Looper effect that lets you loop sections of the sound source to interesting effect.

These rhythms can all be tempo sync’d and utilized to create deep syncopated patterns, Lush evolving textures and even sharp biting leads and basses.

Of course all of this is up to the user, you can turn off these aspects if you just want access to the raw sounds, or you can opt to use any of the beautiful built in effects to sculpt your own sounds.

If you have the Full version of Kontakt you can even import your own sound sources.

Overall I really enjoy this library and it ranks up in the top 5 of my favorite Kontakt libraries.

definitely worth checking out.

 

SUMMARY

  • 500 Pulse Instruments for instant playability
  • A massive array of content
  • 40GB including analog synths, digital synths and organic instruments
  • Up to 4 separate pulses at one time
  • All pulses lock to tempo
  • Rhythms: Looper, Step Sequencers, Arpeggiators, LFOs
  • 4 central MACRO sliders unique to each of the 500 Pulse Instruments

Grab it now and get 2 free expansion libraries FREE.

Priced at $199 on sale now from Output‘s website

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Arturia KeyLab 49 Producer pack review

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The KeyLab 49 has been high on my list of potential purchases for a while. I was not fully satisfied with the current controller keyboard I was using, but I also was having trouble finding a controller with the specs I wanted.  When I first came across the KeyLab 49 my initial impression was that I really liked the metal casing, the smooth turning knobs, the beautiful blue LED scheme and the layout. I was admittedly a little worried that the light synth action of the key bed would turn me off (being used to a much stiffer controller) however this proved to be unsubstantiated. I found myself very much enjoying the keys over the past 2 months that I have spent with the board.
     A few items that really stand out for me are the wonderful faders. It may seem like a small item but they really are a joy to use when sculpting synth ADSR settings. I also found my self enjoying the ability to quickly browse presets from the controllers preset and category knobs. The included software really illustrates how far Arturia has come in the past few years. While All the sounds in the Analog lab software are certainly usable, I did find that the newer offerings (SEMV) compared to older offerings (ModularV) show a much higher sonic quality (listen to a filter sweep between the two and you will hear a marked improvement in the new software).
The vast number of Presets make it a real joy to quickly and easily find what you are looking for. I had no troubles with the software stability I also found it utilized the controller very well. Continue reading →

UVI BeatHawk iPad Sequencer/sampler Review

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The BeatHawk iPad app has been hotly anticipated for some time now. With powerful step sequencing, easy to use sample recording and editing, song arrangement, fx and more.  BeatHawk from UVI boasts and intuitive workflow that lends it self greatly to instant hands on creation of beats while on the go or in the studio.

BeatHawk offers full support for CoreMIDI, Inter-App Audio, AudioBus, Audio Copy and WIST allowing you to create with your favorite tools in whatever way you like. Play your tracks with an external MIDI keyboard or sequence them over Wi-Fi from your computer. If you want to wrap up a track in your favorite DAW just export the stems or MIDI files, it couldn’t be simpler.

FEATURES & COMPATIBILITY

Continue reading →

Eiosis AirEQ Premium EQ VST Review

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AirEQ, Beyond Analog

AirEQ was designed with a vision of achieving musical, technical and sonic excellence.

Simple, intuitive and quick to use, AirEQ is a musical equalizer plugin at its best.

The Water and Fire curves, as the Character and Strength parameters were adjusted by ear, so mixing engineers can focus on one thing – making music sound great.

AIREQ is a premium eq that allows you extensive control over your mix. Utilizing it’s unique character attribute you can custom taylor your sound to be biting or smooth and transparent.

Laid out in a very easy to use and read design AirEQ allows for hands on luscious sound sculpting.

Demo download is available on Eiosis website 

AirEQ has been designed to fasten the workflow of mixing engineers, so they can reach quickly, and intuitively, the sound they have in their mind. The musical Q/Gain adjustement, along the Strength behavior, used with the ultra-musical analyzer, is the perfect combination of listenting, intuition and analysis within the same plugin interface.

Hide the analyzer for an “ears-only mode”, right-click on band switches for advanced options, shift-click on the Q for per-band Character, rename bands to make your own presets, assign each band to Left or Right, Mid or Side, class bands by frequency order..

 

Animodule GATE_MOD Eurorack Modular trigger delay

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Let’s face it, couldn’t we ALL use a little more length?

This Tiny (yet powerful) Module allows you to manipulate your gate length and delay your event triggers with ease and minimal impact on your HP.

Take an incoming Signal above ~1.1V (OpAmp Comparators on the Inputs make very forgiving Clock Inputs)
and shrink it down to 5MS or lengthen it up to 5 Seconds.
That Gate will appear at the Gate Out. Continue reading →

Synthrotek DS-M Drum Synthesizer Module for Eurorack

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the Synthrotek DS-M is an awesome new Drum synth Module for Eurorack.
The DS-M is a full featured drum synth that can emulate virtually any drum sound!

The DS-M (Drum Synth Module) is a complex, modifiable, 100% analog drum synth loosely based on the Coron DS-8 and neatly packaged into an 8hp module.

Continue reading →

Arturia Microbrute SE Unboxing and Overview/ Review video

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  • Main Features
    Monophonic synthesizer
    100% Analog Audio Signal Path
    Steiner-Parker 2 pole Multimode Filter (Low Pass, Band Pass, High Pass)
    Analog Voltage Controlled Oscillator
    Oscillator Mixer (Overtone, Sawtooth, Square, Triangle, audio in (on rear panel))
    ‘Overtone’ sub oscillator/5th generator
    Signal Enhancers :
    Pulse Width Modulation
    Ultrasaw generating fat sawtooth waveforms
    Metalizer bringing extreme harmonics
    Brute Factor™ delivering saturation and rich harmonics
    LFO with 3 waveforms (Sine, Sawtooth, Square)
    LFO clock syncable to Arpeggiator (Arpeg, or free).
    ADSR Envelope Generator
    Keyboard Tracking on the VCF Cutoff
    25 note minikey keyboard
    Mod Wheel (assignable to Cutoff, or LFO amount)
    Pitch Wheel (with selectable bend range via software)
    Octave selector from -2 to +2 octaves
    External Analog Audio Input
    CV In jacks: Pitch, Filter, sub-harmonics, pulse width, metalizer, saw animator
    CV Out jacks: pitch, envelope, LFO
    MIDI Inwith 5 pin DIN connector
    USB MIDI In/Out
    1/4” Audio Output and 1/8” Headphone Output
    Full Function step sequencer :
    8 memories
    up to 64 steps per memory
    tap tempo
    rate control
    step divisions (via software)
    trigger modes (via software)
    MIDI Sync
    Steel bottom panel
    12V DC 1A power supply