2020 08 01 Computer Music

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August 2020 / CM284
LOGIC PRO X 10.5 | REVIEW | HANDS ON GUIDE | OPINION
Logic Goes Live

Have Apple just redefined music production?
C.A.R. BASS MASTER SLEAFORD MODS

How to remix two Massive guide to Doing Glastonbury with
very different tracks synth and sub bass an out-of-date XP laptop
intro / computer music <
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I’m feeling slightly insecure. I’ve just read our Sleaford
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TUTORIAL to help you follow a tutorial feature:
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FILES project files, audio examples, etc. guy they talk about in it: the one who’s more bothered
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snare EQ curve either, if truth be told.) Their story is
incredible, their methods unique and it’s one of the most
refreshing interviews I’ve read, not just in this magazine,
computermusic.co.uk
WWW
but in any. There is a lesson in there for all of us; I’m just
not sure I’m ready to learn it yet… Which would have
computermusic@futurenet.com been enough for me to
facebook.com/computer.music.mag
“Am I the guy talk about this month
without Apple doing their
twitter.com/computermusicuk Sleafords are usual ‘unexpected
announcement’ thing
youtube.com/computermusicmag talking about?” and landing the biggest
instagram.com/computermusicmag
bloody update to Logic
in however many years. And as I’ve been throwing
myself into that for the feature on p16, I can conclude
that – annoying crashes with the odd 3rd party plugin
aside – I’m finding v10.5 rather slick and capable, almost
like it was worthy of the ‘v11’ name. But you can read our
proper review of this most live of Logics on
p68. And before you ask where Scot
and Dave are with their expert
columns, we are taking a breather
with those for a couple of issues,
DVD
mostly as Scot attempted to retire
Subscribe to and it’s taken some time to persuade
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ISSUE 284 AUGUST 2020
contents TRAP
Cover feature
4 FREE
Head to p89 to
download your free
sample collection
worth $19.90!
44
Producer
Masterclass
C.A.R. ON THE
LOGIC GOES LIVE REMIX TRAIL

Chloé Raunet guides us through not
one but two remixes and discusses
Hands-on guide on p16 her unique production process
plus the full review on p68
74
Studio
Bass Programming Special interview
24 PROGRAM SYNTH BASS 56 SLEAFORD MODS
(AND ROCKERS)
Get great synth bass sounds from some classic Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn
plugins and, of course, the Plugin Suite reveal their electronic punk
production ethos
31 37 BASS TIPS
Top advice for recording, programming and more
Your Free 56
37 PROGRAM SUB BASS Plugin!
How to perfect that lowest of bass sounds Essentials
82 BABY AUDIO BABY
COMEBACK CM 6 NEWS
How to use your incredible delay!
544SUBSCRIBE
/ 15 minutes with… Reviews
96 BACK ISSUES
We ask producers from many different backgrounds to give us 98 BACKCHAT
their takes on computer music making 68 APPLE LOGIC 10.5
12 BLANCMANGE 72 TRACKTION
80s legend Neil Arthur on WAVEFORM PRO
his new album and a
million collaborations, 74 OEKSOUND
including the mighty Vince SOOTHE 2
Clarke, and his own son!
768MASTERING
92 R.A.C THE MIX
Grammy-winning producer MIXROOM EQ
André Allen Anjos is grilled.
(And, yes, two bands in one
788MINI REVIEWS
issue with similar acronyms.) 798SOUNDWARE
12 REVIEWS 78
4 / COMPUTER MUSIC / August 2020
downloads / contents <
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We have a fantastic free delay plugin from
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82 up and running with it. On the DVD
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BASS & CIEMATIC SOUNDS
Two great packs of bass sounds plus some
classic cinematic samples. On the DVD or
86 download via File Silo (p81)
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MASTERCLASSES ON FILM
The complete Producer Masterclass remix
video plus some low-end guides.
91 Download from File Silo (see p81)
August 2020 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 5
> news
NEW RELEASES • COMMENT • INDUSTRY HAPPENINGS
Roland Zenology
The Japanese megacorp unveil a new plugin based on ZEN-Core Synthesis
Providing a wealth of emulations of
their classic synths and drum
machines – both algorithmic and sample-
based – for a competitive monthly fee,
Roland’s Roland Cloud service has
successfully established itself as part of
the music technology landscape over the
last couple of years. And now, alongside
the legendary likes of the SH-101, TR-808,
Juno-106 and System 100, subscribers
can get their hands on a plugin version of
the company’s recently unveiled ZEN-
Core Synthesis System.
Called Zenology, the new instrument
“embodies nearly 50 years of synthesizer
research and development”, and
uses analogue emulation, PCM-based and
analogue/digital hybrid technologies for
sound generation, with “Analog Behavior
Modelling” due to be added at a later date.
It might not look like there’s
Importantly, it allows for transfer of patches
much going on in its simple
between it and Roland‘s ZEN-Core- interface, but Zenology’s
compatible hardware synths – such as the power lies in the ZEN-Core
Jupiter-X, Fantom and MC-707 – meaning engine under the hood…
you can program a sound on one, then open
it in another for further editing or use as is. effect processor from a menu of over 90 can ($2.99/month or $29.99/year) gets you
Zenology itself houses over 3000 presets also be deployed. Zencore and all ZEN-Core Sound Packs and
and looks to be a pretty simple affair, with As well as the aforementioned Analog Wave Expansions; a Pro account ($9.99/
synthesis parameters comprising filter Behavior Modelling expansions, a Pro month or $99/year) adds the forthcoming
Cutoff and Resonance, envelope Attack and version of Zenology with deeper editing of Zenology Pro, plus the D-50 and TR-808
Release, and Vibrato depth. 80 extensive synthesis and modulation parameters is on plugins; and Ultimate Membership ($19.99/
drum kits are also onboard, offering the schedule for later in the year, and this month or $199/year) unlocks everything
adjustment of Level, Pan, Attack, Decay and forms the focal point of the new Roland Roland Cloud has to offer.
Release for individual drum sounds. A single Cloud pricing system. Now, the Core tier roland.com
FabFilter Saturn 2
FabFilter’s multiband distortion plugin, Saturn (10/10,
179), has been a go-to for many producers since 2012, and
with version 2, the Dutch software masters have improved
it in just about every area. First, the interface has seen a
complete overhaul that’s particularly transformative with
regard to modulation, which is now fully visualised. Then
there are 12 new distortion types (for 28 in total), 32x
oversampling, variable crossovers, a transient detection
mode for the envelope follower and more.
Saturn 2 is out now, priced £114.
Saturn 2 brings radical changes to the GUI, including an eye-catching modulator fabfilter.com

news <
App watch
We report on the latest
developments in phone
and tablet music making
Facebook Collab
Facebook may not be the first name you
think of when considering collaboration
Toontrack EZbass offers powerful tools for programming your apps, but when you factor in its social
Joining the excellent EZdrummer 2, EZkeys own b-lines, including per-note assignment heritage, it makes more sense. Collab is a
and EZmix 2, the new addition to Toontrack’s of ten articulations, automatic transitions new iOS app currently in beta; it lets you
range of ‘EZ’ applications and plugins aims between chord blocks, and a huge library of sync up to three videos of yourself playing,
to give the computer musician everything MIDI grooves to get you started. You can resulting in a complete arrangement.
they need to create convincing bass guitar also drag in bass guitar samples to have You’ll also be able to upload your collabs
lines in the proverbial box. them converted to MIDI, and automatically so other people can add to them. It’s
EZbass centres on two multisampled generate basslines to match imported drum currently only available by invite – sign up
electric basses – a Fender Jazz (Vintage) and or keyboard MIDI clips. A library of bass to join the waiting list.
an Alembic (Modern) – which can be played presets is in place too, each with its own npe.fb.com/collab
and sequenced using your keyboard and adjustable effects. EZbass is out now, for
DAW the usual way, or within the built-in £129. We’ll review it soon.
Song Track and MIDI sequencer. The latter timespace.com
Celemony Melodyne 5
It’s the little things that count with version 5
of Celemony’s amazing polyphonic pitch BIAS FX 2 Mobile
correction system, as the headline Positive Grid are promising to turn your
improvements over v4 are all about “core iOS device into “the ultimate all-in-one
competence” – specifically, the ability to guitar effects processor,” and it’s all thanks
separately process and balance the to BIAS FX 2 Mobile, a significantly-
unpitched and breath components of vocal enhanced version of their amp/effects app.
tracks, and better weighting of pitch This is powered by a new processing
deviations, for “better results, less time engine and promises an easy user
spent editing, and a more natural sound”. conforming audio clips to the harmonic interface, drag and drop operation and, of
Dynamics handling also gets an upgrade, in profile of your project; and the Percussive course, loads of great-sounding virtual
the shape of the Fade Tool and Leveling Pitched algorithm caters to the likes of tabla amps and pedals. Notable highlights
Macro, which apply fades to individual notes and 808s. include Guitar Match (designed to make
within chords, and reduce dynamic range by Melodyne 5 is available in Essential (€99), your guitar sound like different iconic
making loud notes quieter and quiet notes Assistant (€249), Editor (€399) and Studio models), and a built-in looper. BIAS FX 2 is
louder, respectively. The new Chord Track (€699) editions. free, with in-app purchases.
and Chord Grid, meanwhile, are useful for celemony.com positivegrid.com/bias-fx-mobile
Muramasa Morphverb “magical tool providing a unique way to find

Newly signed up as the fourth member of the perfect reverb settings”. At the heart of
the United Plugins brand collective, Morphverb are nine reverb algorithms
Muramasa’s first release is billed as a (Room, Plate, Echoes, Ambience, Infinite,
etc), arranged around a dial for blending of
any two adjacent styles. A shared array of Metagrid
adjustable reverb parameters comprises Logic Pro X 10.5 has refocused attention
Low and High Damping, Predelay, Width, on Logic Remote, the iOS app that lets you
Size and Modulation; and one-knob control Apple’s DAW from your iPad or
Saturation and Compression processors are iPhone. Metagrid is cut from similar cloth,
on-hand for distortion and dynamics letting you trigger keyboard shortcuts,
control. There’s a dedicated Ducking circuit, type text, send MIDI messages, use macros
too, for auto-attenuating the wet signal to and more. The app recently graduated to
make room for the dry input; and a handy v1.5, letting you import/export buttons
spectrogram for visualisation. and views, with Ableton Live support. It’ll
Morphverb costs €149. also work with a range of other DAWs. £29.
unitedplugins.com metasystem.io/metagrid

> news
Get with the Spitfire Audio BBC

Orchestra Discover
Spitfire’s BBC Orchestra ROMpler is a thing
programmers of beauty but, at £899, not one that many

can afford. That situation is set to improve,
however, with the scaled-down BBC
Orchestra Discover, squeezing 33
Mastering The Mix founder and ex-mastering engineer instruments and 47 playing techniques
down to a dinky 200MB of samples (the
Tom Frampton talks about their new plugin, Mixroom full version weighs in at 590GB!), and
fronted with a clean, simple plugin
interface. There’s also BBC Orchestra
Tell us a bit about your company?. Core to consider, with 44 instruments
TF “I started Mastering The Mix in 2014 with and 305 techniques in a 24GB soundbank.
a goal to help music producers get better- BBC Orchestra Discover costs £49, while
sounding mixes. As a mastering engineer, I Core is £399.
was well positioned to see what issues my spitfireaudio.com
clients faced when making music. I ended up
giving the same advice time after time and
wanted to create a solution that would enable Softube Weiss EQ1
people to easily identify their own mix issues. Continuing their clearly fruitful partnership,
This is how our first plugin, Levels, came the latest collaboration between boutique
about, a metering plugin that identifies hardware manufacturer Weiss and software
technical issues in a mix or master. It was modelling specialists Softube is
warmly received by the audio community an emulation of the former’s
Mastering The Mix and we’ve continued to create plugins that high-end EQ1 mastering EQ.
solve the hardest challenges producers face Described as “a line-by-line code
Tom Frampton in the studio, with Mixroom being the latest.” port boasting 1:1 accuracy”,
Softube Weiss EQ1 features
Tell us about Mixroom… seven parametric bands, all
TF “It’s an intelligent EQ that guides producers to set the perfect balance covering the full audible frequency range
of richness and clarity whether they’re working on a vocal, a synth and can be switched to Dynamic mode (the
or mastering their music. It analyses your audio and shows you which hardware only allows this for four bands),
frequencies could be adjusted to improve your sound. The EQ and numerous workflow enhancements. Get
target suggestion helps you get a solid starting point, from which you can it now for – yoinks! – €549.
tweak your sound to suit your preference. Mixroom has specifically- softube.com
designed EQ filters that deliver maximum clarity and transparency in the
mid and high frequency range, and can be used alongside our plugin
Bassroom which was specifically created for the low end. You can also
create your own EQ targets by importing reference tracks so you can use iZotope Tonal Balance 2
Mixroom to get closer to the sound of your favourite tracks.” Breaking out from iZotope’s Ozone 9 and
Neutron 3 plugin suites, Tonal Balance 2 is
How will it change the way we make music? now available as a separate product
TF “Decision-making is key when it comes to making music. Mixroom in its own right.
helps you make better decisions – This visual analysis tool displays
“Mixroom helps you faster. If you’re mastering a track, and
your mix sounds a bit muddy and dull
the spectral profile of the incoming
audio (your mix) and compares it to
to make better or thin and harsh, Mixroom can help
you add the right EQ curves to get a
one of 12 genre-based target curves,
or a custom curve generated from an
decisions – faster” solid tonal balance. If you’re working
on a vocal (or any individual channel),
imported audio file.
Tonal Balance 2 can be had for $199, and is
you can select one of the Mixroom still also included with Ozone 9 Advanced
presets to help you get a great starting point. Unlike most presets, and Neutron 3 Advanced.
Mixroom analyses your audio and shows you the EQ curves needed to izotope.com
get your raw audio sounding better. So, it’s very unlikely that any two
preset results will ever be the same.
“Whether your audio is muddy, dull, thin, harsh, or even almost
perfect, Mixroom helps you elevate your mix to get the perfect balance of Eventide Rotary Mod
richness and clarity. Our customers consistently mention sound quality, The swirling, psychedelic sound of the Leslie
ease of use, and added clarity to their music.” rotary speaker cabinet never gets old, and
Eventide’s take on the design boosts its
What have you got planned for the near future? classic functionality with the inclusion of
TF “We have a couple of projects lined up. We’ll be beginning work on independent rotor and horn speeds, and
Reference 2.0 adding some great new features to one of our most popular modulation of both via LFO or envelope
plugins. We’re working on an interactive mixing and mastering course follower; tempo sync; a ‘Giant’ cabinet
platform that will help students identify where they’re going wrong. It option; and a high-cut filter. What really
uses a smart algorithm to give specific and unique feedback on how to sets it apart from other Leslie emulations,
improve their sound. We’ll also be working on a new plugin tackling the though, is the implementation of
problem of conflicting frequencies. We’re very much looking forward to Eventide’s brilliant Ribbon performance
sharing these projects with the audio community in the near future!” controller, enabling seamless morphing
between two complete parameter states.
Mixroom is reviewed on p76. Rotary Mod is $99 on PC and Mac, and also
available as an AUv3 plugin for iOS for £8.
masteringthemix.com eventideaudio.com

> news
years
back
We adorn our usual
nostalgia glasses… with
added 2020 lenses
Anyone who says that music’s been
devalued over the past 10 years could do
worse than take a look at our cover
feature from August 2010 ( 154), when
we showed you how to make a track for
free. Sadly, we can’t play it to you here,
but we can assure you that it sounded like
a million dollars (probably).
Our Burning Question for the month
asked if live computer music could be
Arturia OB-Xa V
made more engaging, a trifling concern Arturia’s awesome vintage synth and keyboard emulation line just got
now we’re in a time when most people bigger with the new OB-Xa V, a lovingly crafted emulation of
“Most would settle for any Oberheim’s 80s polyphonic monster, the OB-Xa, famously heard on
Van Halen’s Jump. Expanding on the original hardware, OB-Xa V
live music not streamed features two oscs (plus noise) with continuous cross-modulation; a
from someone’s house” choice of 2-pole or 4-pole resonant LPF; unison detune; left/right stereo
offset of osc, individual voice panning, filter and LFO parameters; four
would settle for any kind of live music
that isn’t streamed from someone’s
function generators; an arp and nine effects modules. Yours for €199.
house. We also pre-empted the start of arturia.com
the hardware synth boom by discussing
the pros and cons of adding some ‘out of
the box’ gear to your studio setup, and
there was a tutorial on using
Propellerhead Software’s new Reason 5
and Record 1.5 apps, which would later
Ins & outs
become one. SPLICING THINGS UP STUDIO TIME RUNNING OUT?
Finally, one reader wrote in to tell us Sample vendors Splice have As you might expect, the picture
how much he’d been enjoying his enjoyed a dramatic rise, and it isn’t so rosy for commercial
archived copies of , and implored looks like they have big plans for recording studios, with the Music
everyone to keep theirs. We agree that the future. They recently Producers Guild reporting that up to
they can be useful – particularly if you’re purchased Superpowered, a dev 48% of those in the UK could face
the writer of a column like this one… platform for creating cross- closure within the next few months
platform audio apps. Next step if they don’t receive additional
music production software? support from the government.
BUTTERFLY AWAY FESTIVAL WASHOUT

The launch of the new 13-inch COVID-19 has also put paid to the
MacBook Pro was good news for festival summer, with
those seeking a more compact, Glastonbury’s 50th anniversary
powerful Mac laptop, and we can one big casualty. Still, you can
also celebrate that there are now no watch more than 60 classic sets –
new MacBooks with the unloved including those by Beyoncé,
butterfly keyboard mechanism that Bowie and The Chemical Brothers
came in 2015. It won’t be missed. – on BBC iPlayer from 26 June.
BETTER THE DAW YOU KNOW FLORIAN SCHNEIDER RIP

With people being forced to stay Schneider, who died last month,
indoors over the past few weeks, was a genuine electronic music
interest in home recording is legend, founding Kraftwerk with
booming. Kylie Minogue is just one Ralf Hütter in 1970 and playing a
star who’s revealed that she’s set up key role as they released a string
a studio in her living room so that of seminal albums. An enigmatic
she can continue to work on her character, he left the band in
Not sure if it was clear from the cover, but in cm154, new album. 2008, but his legacy is secure.
we gave readers tips on making music for FREE!

> 15 questions with / blancmange
15 questions with…
BLANCMANGE
Neil Arthur of synthpop
favourites Blancmange
tells us about the software
and the people that inspire
him to keep going after
decades in the
music business
Blancmange’s Neil Arthur spent the
80s making hits like Living On The
Ceiling and Feel Me. He then disappeared
to the soundtrack composition world,
only to kickstart the band in 2011. Since
then he’s been involved in countless
projects with everyone from Vince Clark
to… his own son!
Tell us about your musical history?
1 Neil Arthur: “My name is Neil Arthur. I
am in Blancmange (ha ha). I’m also part of
Fader and Near Future. Back to Blancmange.
It came into existence in 1978, after I met
Stephen Luscombe at an art school gig he
was performing at with his band Miru. We
chatted and found that we shared a few
things in common – music tastes and a taste
for beer. We met up sporadically and set
about making some noises with household
objects and the odd musical instruments,
recording our efforts onto a borrowed Sony
cassette machine or a four-track TEAC 1/4”
tape recorder.
“God knows how we ever managed to
get a song together, but somehow we did
and the results were released, thanks to a
friend – David Hill (not Slade) – who fronted
the money from a tax rebate. Rough Trade
took 25 copies and one fell into the hands of
Stevo [from Some Bizarre Records], who
after a couple of hilarious meetings
involving pints on heads, asked us to
contribute to the Some Bizarre sampler LP.
We had just recorded an instrumental, Sad
Day, so we licensed him that. The release
got noticed by a few people in the music
business and, along with fellow album
Photo: Helen Kincaid
contributors like Soft Cell, Depeche Mode

and The The, we managed to somehow get
a record deal. In 1982 we were in the studio
recording our first album, Happy Families,

including songs like I’ve Seen The Word, programming features. Also
Waves, Feel Me, God’s Kitchen and Living the MIDI file drag-and-drop is brilliant.” ISSUE 284 AUGUST 2020
On The Ceiling, the latter becoming a Top Arturia Spark drum machine “This is Future Publishing Ltd.
Ten seller here and elsewhere in the autumn useful when I’m figuring out a song. Lots of Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA
Tel: 01225 442244
of ’82. We made lots of mistakes – some we good sounds available, and easy to use.” Email: computermusic@futurenet.com
got away with. Logic Pro X pedalboard “Nice for dirtying Web: computermusic.co.uk
“I now collaborate with Ben Edwards things up when I’m in a rush.” EDITORIAL
(Benge) at his studio. We are Fader and Korg MS20: “Does what it says on the box.” Editor: Andy Jones, andy.jones@futurenet.com
Art Editor: Mark White, mark.white@futurenet.com
Benge helps me with the Blancmange stuff, Managing Editor: Kate Puttick, kate.puttick@futurenet.com
particularly as it nears completion.” How does a track typically start and
7 then progress?
CONTRIBUTORS
Danny Scott, Ronan Macdonald, Ben Rogerson, Jon Musgrave, Adam Clifford,
What would you say is your overall “It varies. I wish sometimes I did have a Robbie Stamp, Oli Bell, Joseph Branston
2 philosophy or approach when it formula, but not having one keeps me on
Photography: Getty Images, Shutterstock, Perfect Circuit
ADVERTISING
comes to music production? my toes. I like to surprise myself.” Chief Revenue Officer: Zack Sullivan
“Keep it simple. One note at a time on a UK Commercial Sales Director: Clare Dove, clare.dove@futurenet.com
synth, one string if possible on the guitar. Do you have any specific Advertising Sales Director: Lara Jaggon, lara.jaggon@futurenet.com
Why put on another layer if one will do?” 8 production tricks you can reveal?
Account Sales Director: Kyle Phillips, kyle.phillips@futurenet.com
Account Sales Director: Alison Watson, alison.watson@futurenet.com
“I put things out of time and tune, nothing is MARKETING
When and how did you discover the perfect. Strip back to the bare bones Direct Marketing Campaign Manager: Will Hardy
3 route to computer music-making? wherever possible. That goes for lyrics too.” PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION
“In around 1983 or 84 when I bought a BBC Production Controller: Fran Twentyman
Production Manager: Mark Constance
B computer and a sequencer called a UMI, What is on your wishlist gear wise?
developed in part by Lynton Naiff, who I’d 9 “A new MIDI controller and an update
Printed in the UK by: William Gibbons & Sons on behalf of Future
Distributed by: Marketforce (UK), 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU
first met when he scored the orchestral for the MPC X to allow third-party plugins CIRCULATION
parts for the song Waves that was on our and better integration between it and Trade Marketing Manager: Michelle Brock, 0207 429 3683
first album.” Ableton Live.” SUBSCRIPTIONS

UK reader order line & enquiries: 0844 848 2852
Overseas reader order line and enquiries: +44 (0) 1604 251 045
How do you think software has What would you like to see Online enquiries: myfavouritemagazines.co.uk
4 affected how you work? 10 developed in terms of studio Email: computermusic@myfavouritemagazines.co.uk
“As a limited-ability musician, it’s enabled technology and why? LICENSING

Computer Music is available for licensing. Contact the Licensing team to discuss
me to get ideas down relatively quickly. “A musical time machine, to travel back and partnership opportunities
That said, they’ve driven me mad over the forth, to different studios that I’ve been Head of Print Licensing : Rachel Shaw, licensing@futurenet.com
three or four decades I’ve tried to use them. lucky enough to work in. There I could MANAGEMENT
They are always right. Initially with the UMI, record a synth from Blackwing – make a Chief Content Officer: Aaron Asadi
Brand Director, Music: Stuart Williams
it was all step-time inputting. Eventually I stem and cart it back to the present, before Content Director, Music: Scott Rowley
moved on to an Atari with the E-magic flying off to collect samples from the future, Head of Art and Design: Rodney Dive
Group Art Director: Graham Dalzell
Notator. Then the early Logic programs on returning with them to add to a future-past-
Head Of Design (London): Brad Merrett
PC, integrating it with the Soundscape present composition! Oh hold on, I do that
digital recorder, which was fab for film work. already at Benge’s!” NEXT ISSUE ON SALE: 15 July 2020
Then later and up until now I’ve used a Mac
with Logic Pro and Ableton.” What advice have you picked up
11 from playing live?
Tell us a little about your studio… “Don’t overstay your welcome, or take
5 “Quite often I start on an acoustic yourself too seriously. Appreciate every
guitar, working out ideas, structures and so moment. The audience paid good money to
on. Then I may put that down on to iPhone come and see you; don’t take it for granted.”
and import to the Mac (Logic or Ableton).
My setup is very simple. I won’t go in the … and from the studio?
studio unless I have an idea, meaning I don’t 12 “Try not to go in there without a plan.
sit there waiting for one to arrive. That Even if it is hard work, it’s got to be fun too.”
usually happens when I least expect it, so I
prepare. I might be out on a bike ride and an And from the music industry?
idea will start to form as I struggle up 13 “A huge pinch of salt is needed for the
another hill. If it does and, importantly, if i potential disappointments and rejection.”
can remember it by the time I get to the top
of that hill, I mutter the idea into the iPhone Tell us about your latest release and
and carry on. Back to the studio, a glorified 14 why people should check it out...
word for my space, I use third-party plugins, “There’ll be trouble if they don’t.
Gforce’s Oddity 2 being my favourite. I have Blancmange’s next album is called Mindset
a few external synths, an MPC, a Joe Meek and out in early June. The tour will be in
Q3 that I put my vocals through, a few mics, September, October and December. ”
oh and a load of backup hard drives.”
Finally, what have you got planned
What are some of your favourite 15 for the near future?
6 plugins and why? “Exactly! Your last words, Near Future, a
GForce Oddity 2 “It’s versatile, the presets second album in the making with Jez
are always a good starting place, easy to Bernholz. I’m working with Vince Clarke and
control, brilliant sounds.” Benge on a project. Also, I’m writing with my We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from responsibly managed,
certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. The paper in this magazine was sourced and
GForce impOSCar 2 “Likewise it’s versatile son Joe (Kincaid), who I toured with last produced from sustainable managed forests, conforming to strict environmental and
and packs a punch.” year. Then there’s a project with Liam socioeconomic standards. The manufacturing paper mill and printer hold full FSC and PEFC
certification and accreditation.
AudioThing SR-88 “I have the real thing Hutton (Boxed In) and Finlay Shakespeare.
[Sound Master Memory Rhythm SR-88, a So, I’m keeping out of trouble.”
rare 80s drum machine], but as a plugin, I
love the raw sound and its simple For more info, visit blancmange.co.uk
> cover feature / logic 10.5 quick start guide
LOGIC GOES LIVE

Are you tempted by the forbidden fruit with the new
Logic 10.5? Read on to see what all the fuss is about
For once you can agree with the hype. First the non rumours; the cold, hard facts. bits. Oh, and Apple have only gone and updated
Apple have claimed that the latest Logic Logic 10.5 is massive news. The update throws in EXS24 with not one but two new sampling
10.5 update is the biggest since Pro X, but you a grown up version of the Live Loops found in options. (For some of the more desperate EXS
could argue it’s their most important update GarageBand that instantly puts Logic on a non users who have been crying out for this
ever. Heck, if you’re an Apple fanperson, this conventional compositional par with – yes we’re overhaul, an update to ‘24 is almost worth a
update might even have got you frothing that going to say it – Ableton Live. But not just that. point update in itself.) Then there’s Drum Synth,
this is the most important update for music The new Step Sequencer throws in yet another a new live Remix FX plugin and more. Like we
production – period! Of course it isn’t quite alternative to putting notes and beats together said, this is big. Logic XI big.
that, but 10.5 is one heck of an update which, that will be a familiar tempter for other
Logic user or not, you do need to know about. sequencer users (both hard and soft). iOS users Not half hearted
It might just tempt you over to the Mac, or will love the fact that Logic Control has also When we had a chat with Apple just as the 10.5
even the iPad if those rumours are true. been updated to take charge of all the best new announcement was made, we had a chance to

logic 10.5 quick start guide / cover feature <
ask them about some of the key questions, but

first here’s their take on 10.5. While they don’t
like being quoted directly – as you know, Apple
can be mysterious to say the least – they are in
agreement about this definitely being the
biggest update since X (at least). But, they say, it
is not just about the individual additions listed
above, but how they integrate with one another.
For example, you can instantly create a Drum
Machine Designer kit using Quick Sampler, and
then instantly use that kit to program a beat
with Step Sequencer, and then create and
perform different variations of that beat with
Live Loops. Everything is designed to work
together, simple as that.
So why didn’t Apple simply jump from 10.4 to
v11 rather than just 10.5? That’s a numbering
scheme thing, they say, and every time Apple do
a ‘dot’ release it’s about feature additions not
major overhauls. So that clears that one up,
what about *whisper* the other thing?
Let’s get the elephant in the

room out of the way
Yes, Live Loops is all about triggering different
cells of loops and then whole rows of these cells
and, of course, that has been around for years,
albeit 90-degrees shifted around in Ableton
Live. Well, Apple argue, the idea of laying sounds
on a grid that you can trigger does go right back
to the 80s, with hardware like the infamous Akai
MPC, so it’s not a new idea, it’s more about the
implementation. They also point out that Live
“Apple argue the idea modulation options to an incredibly, well, logical
way to organise and map your audio.
Loops has been in GarageBand for quite a few We have a step-by-step guide to Sampler on
years now, and 10.5 is all about bringing a pro of laying sounds on a p21, but don’t for Quick Sampler as this little
version of that into Logic and to support beauty is so easy to use it doesn’t really require
everything in Logic that is already there. With
this in mind, then, Live Loops can live right next
grid that you trigger one! Quick Sampler is now a main feeder for
Drum Machine Designer (rather than previous
to the traditional Logic track area, and any
content that works in Logic can be dragged into
goes back to the 80s” plugin Ultrabeat). It is, then, great for drums and
loops, with an ease of slicing the latter into
it. Again, Apple say, it’s all about the integration. individual hits for retriggering/programming.
There are also one or two additions in 10.5 adjusted to fit that of the project. New Cells can Even simpler, just load in any single sampled
which take Logic’s version of Live Loops away be created by right>clicking on an empty Cell. sound from any instrument and it’s ready to play
from Ableton’s, including the Remix FX real-time You can find and load in an audio loop (on an across the keyboard. Aside from that it features
automation effect plugin which can be used audio track), record a MIDI part (with a software cut down modules from Sampler, still with
with Logic Remote and with which complete instrument track), add a Pattern Cell (via the plenty of parameters to twist and turn.
performance effects can be created by mouse new Step Sequencer) or add both audio and Drum Synth is also a main supplier for Drum
or finger. The results can be then easily recorded MIDI with Record Into Cell. Synth Designer and seems simple in looks, but
into the Logic timeline to be worked on later. that simplicity is its strength when it comes to
Not all about Live Loops quickly coming up with different drum hits. You
Live Loops in detail While Live Loops grabs headlines, there’s a lot can synthesise sounds with up to eight different
Boot the new version of Logic 10.5 up (and we more going on in 10.5 that’s worthy of note. First parameters for all the main kit components. You
had it running well in Mojave if you’re worried let’s turn to the Step Sequencer. This is quite get to twist dials like Tone, Pitch, Body, Noise and
about needing to upgrade to Catalina) and you’ll simply a sequencer that you’ll all know and love, Decay for your hits which means your core
not immediately see any differences. Two new the kind that developed on early electronic sounds are easy to come up with. You then
icons to the right of the View menu allow you to hardware. You can delve into both beat and simply load multiple instances of these into
switch on both the new Live Loops window and melody loop creation and it’s easy to get both Drum Machine Designer to come up with a kit,
the traditional Tracks area. Press Opt>V to going and plenty of editing options within them. mixing synthetic drum sounds with sampled
toggle between them or Opt>B to show both Then, of course, you can use those sequences sounds from Quick Sampler, and you then have
environments simultaneously – one key as Live Loops and drag them back into that new a beautiful new kit to make beats with. Do that in
difference over Ableton Live. environment for some arranging and live Step Sequencer, load it in as a Live Loop and, hey
You can trigger each of the Cells in Live Loops performance fun. We show you how all this presto – see what Apple mean by all these new
simply by pressing each; as many as you like in a works on p20 in a step-by-step guide. individual components integrating so well?
vertical line, only one per track in a horizontal Let’s go close up on Live Loops and some of
(like we said it’s Ableton Live shifted on its side EXS Extras the plugins, and share some quick guides on the
but don’t worry, that’s enough Live comparisons The sampling side of Logic has been greatly more complex (although not very) Step
until next month). Hitting the space bar stops enhanced – ‘at last’, EXS24 fans will be saying – Sequencer and Sampler options. There’s more
playback while CMD>Return resets Cells. Entire with the addition of Sampler and Quick Sampler. to Logic 10.5, like the additional Logic Control
vertical lines of Cells (Scenes) can be triggered Without wishing to dwell too much on how functionality, and we’ll look at that more next
with the arrow icons at the bottom of each. EXS24 was falling behind, suffice to say Apple issue. However, with Live Loops, Sampler, Quick
10.5 comes with a library of 2,500 new loops have addressed most if not all of the concerns Sampler and Drum Synth – the latter two feeding
(and 17 Live Loops templates) ready to load in with these additions. Both make working with Drum Machine Designer which is completely
but you can import any type of loops you like – audio very, very easy and Sampler comes refreshed – that’s more than enough to be
audio or MIDI – and the tempo, not key, will be packed with modules aplenty to add synth and getting on with. Just what will Pro XI bring?

LOGIC 10.5’s MAIN UPDATES
NEW ADDITIONS
Here’s what Live Loops, Quick Sampler, Remix FX and
Drum Synth look like up close. Turn over for more on the
Step Sequencer and Sampler options
CELLS
YOU’RE JUST TWO ICONS AWAY… DRAG CONTENT TO TRACKS
Cells can be created on both MIDI
Just these tiny icons stand between old Logic and audio tracks and trigger when Both MIDI and audio-based
and new Live Logic. The one on the left calls clicked, starting a clock-like rotation. Cells will create standard parts
up Live Loops; the right-hand one, the Space bar stops; CMD>RTN resets on tracks when dragged to the
traditional track area. Both can be toggled track area
NEW CELL CONTENTS SIDE-BY-SIDE

CHANGE OF SCENE
Created by right-clicking an empty Cell and A big plus in Logic 10.5 is that
Hit each of these arrow your traditional track view can be
icons to start an entire filled with pretty much anything you like,
including MIDI, audio and Patterns by way of side-by-side with Live Loops for
column of Cells as a Scene easy transfer between the two
the Step Sequencer (see next page)

Quick Sampler
MAIN OPTIONS A cut-down easy Sampler
Record audio directly in,
display Classic or One Shot
and slice and dice your drum MODULES
loop for individual beat Some of the functionality
playback here of Sampler in cut-down
modules, but with a
MAIN WINDOW decent number of
To drag or load your sample parameters to edit
in. You can easily make
basic start and end point
edits plus fade in and out
ENVELOPES
GO LOOPY Edit how your samples play
Set your root key, loop and fade (which you can
forwards, backwards also do with the pencil tools
or alternate here in the main window)
Drum Synth
Any drum sound in an analogue-style way
DON’T WANT TO
FIDDLE?
Dozens of presets
to load in here SIMPLE BUT VERY
EFFECTIVE
You get up to eight
SYNTHESISE ANY parameters to tweak your
DRUM HIT SOUND drum sounds to perfection
With four main categories and
24 sub categories you can
choose many varied drums AUDITION
sounds to start editing Hit this and hear!
Remix FX
Real-time effects by mouse or finger
CRUSHING
R=REPEATS A bitcrushing-type
Stuttery-type editing here effect that increases
that increases as you move as you dial up
the slider vertically upwards
REAL TIME CONTROL

STOP/START EFFECTS
Control your X-Y parameters
Slow down, vinyl stop,
here by moving around the
reverse and scratch
mouse, or fingers via the iOS
effects here
Logic Control app

> Step by step 1. Best use of the Step Sequencer
1 2 3
There are many different ways to Now right-click on the track and select Now the main Step Sequencer grid will
incorporate the new Logic Step Create Pattern Region from the appear with the 16 parts from left to
Sequencer, but here’s one of the quickest resulting drop-down menu. This will right. Press E to toggle this grid on and off.
ways to explore it. Select a preset sound – create a Step Sequencer Pattern within Audition the sounds by hitting their icons
we’re opting for some of the new your looped area which defaults to 16 running down the left-hand side of the
electronic drum kits (which, as you can parts. We’re looping over four bars so screen (or anywhere around the name).
see, we’re still in the middle of each one responds to a beat. Now it’s simply a matter of filling in your
downloading). Drag this to a track. beats as the pattern cycles around.
4 5 6
Don’t want to hear the beat when you You can also change the timing of Now explore the menus. Velocity/
hit a step? Hit the green MIDI icon (or each track by clicking the drop-down Value lets you alter parameters
Opt>O). We’ve also put some hi-hats in menu (here on the 1/16 part of the track) to including the actual sound (using the Note
over the first two and a half bars. Press select different intervals. Select 1/8, for option, which lets you select a different
Shift and drag when you click a step and example and just the hats will play half kits sound on each track). Note Repeat is a
want to fill a row, to ensure that you don’t time, although the graphics don’t great one as it allows you to drag up from
move the contents over to another track necessarily show this as you might expect the bottom of each cell for repeat effects
by accident. (but you will hear what you expect!) and you can very quickly get some great
stutters going.
7 8 9
Want to increase the number of steps? Of course it’s not just beats you can It doesn’t end there. With Logic 10.5, as
Easy. Click the drop-down Steps menu use Step Sequencer with. Here we’ve Apple told us, everything is
to choose up to 64 steps. Go all the way up repeated the steps above to very quickly compatible so you can very quickly drag
to the maximum and it splits it into 32 add a bass sequencer from Synthmaster your new sequences into Live Loops for all
divisions on two tabbed pages so you to our beats. You get a number of key and the live performance and arranging fun
don’t have to squint. You have this ‘two- melody options and, quite simply, this is that will give you. Great stuff.
tab’ option for other step sizes as well. one of the quickest ways to get a tune.

> Step by step 2. An introduction to Sampler
1 2 3
We’re now going to take a tour of Now we’re going to load some audio You can edit the audio in the Zone
another of the great new features that into Sampler. There are several ways window or spread the sample across
comes with Logic 10.5: Sampler. This is a to do this but for demo purposes, we’re the keyboard range so that more keys play
bigger and more feature-packed version going to drag a guitar sound we have on it (polyphonically if you wish). In order to
of Quick Sampler, although they share an audio track into the Zone area as have the sound play the correct time,
many of the same characteristics. Learn shown. You may need to open the rather than faster up the keyboard or
this and you should be good to go with Mapping module and here you will see slower down, press the Follow Tempo
Quick Sampler. Open a software your sample on note C1 which is the key button as indicated.
instrument track and select Sampler. on your keyboard that will activate it.
4 5 6
So now we have the audio file in and Now you can see that Logic has Now you might want to edit how your
mapped across several keys. However identified the root sample as really sample fades in and out. You can do
the root note is currently C1, but we’re not being E1 rather than C1 and mapped it this via the pencil icons which default to
quite sure if that’s correct. We can get accordingly. (We’ve zoomed in and the sample start and end points. Drag
Logic to analyse the original sample and cropped the range). This is one of the best them either way to fade in or out.
map it into the correct position on the Sampler features as you can take a simple Alternatively use the Modulators section
keyboard by selecting the Automap Using sample – say a classic synth sound – and and the Env Amp 1 option to adjust the
Pitch Detection option from the Zone easily make an entire ‘instrument’ out of it attack and decay times as shown.
drop-down menu. by mapping it across your keyboard.
POWER TIP
>Use the presets

Not so much a power tip here but to
make sure you know of and use the
presets that come with Sampler. It
comes with many preset sounds in a
dozen categories including Acoustic
Pianos and Pop Strings and there
are some great ones to audition, if
only to see how samples can be
mapped and to learn about best
practice when using Sampler. Enjoy
Logic 10.5 and send us your tips to
7 8
Looping is just as easy. Select the There’s so much more you can do in computermusic@futurenet.com.
Mode drop-down menu at the bottom Sampler, like exploring the Synth
of the screen which will say ‘No Loop’ and section. Here, for example, we’ve applied
select Forward. You will then get a loop Filter 1 to our guitar sample, and are now
start and end icon which you can adjust. modulating the filter frequency with a
This will loop the contents forwards. random value to get a dynamic squelchy
Reverse does it backwards, while sound with loads of movement. Lots to
Alternate bounces betwixt the two. experiment with here!

bass special / make music now <
BASS
S P E C I A L
Over the next 16 pages we have
all you need to produce perfect
synth, sub and sampled bass…
24 Synth bass 37 Sub bass

How to make a variety of synth bass Understanding how to design an
sounds using Dune CM, plus some effective sub is an essential skill for
of the biggest synths out there any contemporary producer,
including Native Instruments’ especially as subs can underpin so
Massive, Massive X and FM8. many different genres. Here’s how to
produce the perfect sub bass with
Massive, Kontakt and, of course, our
31 Bass tips very own Plugin Suite.
We have a huge range of bass
production tips covering everything
including bass design, programming On the DVD
basslines, arranging and mixing bass Don’t want to program your own
and even – if you’re brave – moving sounds? We’ve got you covered with
into the outside world to record real nearly 600 bass samples on this
bass instruments! month’s DVD or at filesilo.co.uk

SYNTH
BASSSynthesis is one of the quickest and,
potentially, easiest methods of creating
awesome bass sounds from scratch.
Here’s how it’s done…
Samples and presets are all very well, but if you functionality, and their seemingly endless options
really want to get the best possible bass sounds quickly go from being intimidating to offering an
for your tracks, then nothing beats being able to enticing plethora of creative possibilities.
synthesise them yourself from the ground up. Sure, In these walkthroughs, we’ll show you how easy it is
even a novice can tweak a synth’s factory sounds to use a variety of difficult-sounding synthesis
and come up with something passable, but this sort techniques (including frequency, ring and pulse width
of ‘luck-based’ approach can waste time rather than modulation) to conjure up a variety of useful bass
save it. With a basic understanding of the sounds, from simple percussive tones to phase
fundamentals of synthesis, you can work far more modulating hits and huge, rumbling legato monsters.
quickly and get much better-sounding results. We’ll not only give you step-by-step instructions, but
Of course, today’s software synths are packed with also explain why each stage of the process is
features, and while this complexity gives them important, helping even the most nervous newbie to
enormous creative potential, it can be a little scary for get their head around the core techniques of bass
the newcomer. Even relatively simple synths like u-he’s synthesis. Links are provided to the demo of each
Diva or NI’s Super 8 have dozens upon dozens of synth used in case you don’t have access to the
parameters, features and routing options. However, complete version, while Dune CM is included with our
despite their complex interfaces, soft synths are awesome Plugins suite which, of course, includes a
generally easy to use when you understand their basic selection of other great synths to experiment with.

synth bass / bass special <
> Step by step 1. Basic bass synthesis
TUTORIAL
FILES
Launch your DAW and load Dune CM (the installers for which are in Turn the Cutoff knob in the Filter panel down to 0%, and the
1 the CM Plugins folder at filesilo.co.uk) onto an instrument track.

Initialise the synth by clicking the Bank B button in the centre panel. By
default, Oscillator 1 is set to the sawtooth waveform, which generates
both even and odd harmonics. It really fills up the frequency range, but
2 Env(elope) up to 65%. The Filter Envelope now modulates Dune
CM’s low-pass filter cutoff frequency. The envelope’s Sustain level is set
to 100% by default, but turn it down to 75% and you’ll hear the Cutoff
drop quickly at the start of each note. Taking out the high frequencies
we can turn it into a bass sound with a little filtering. like this gives the sound a more bassy feel.
This combination of sawtooth oscillator and low-pass filtering You’ll notice that the further up the keyboard you play, the more
3 gives us a simple synthesis of a picked electric bass sound. We can

smooth it out a little by turning the Amplitude and Filter Envelope’s
Release times up to 10%. Activate the Mono button in the Output panel
so that you can only play the sound monophonically – that is, one note
4 muffled the sound becomes. This is because the low-pass filter
cutoff remains at the same level. However, if you set the Key Track
knob in the Filter panel to 50% the Cutoff will follow the note played,
giving you a consistent tone across the entire keyboard. (Audio: 4.
at a time. Sawtooth bass)
We can get a generic synth bass sound by setting Oscillator 1’s The swift filter envelope movement gives the sound a burst of
5 waveform to a square shape – do this by clicking the Square icon in

the Oscillator 1 panel. Square waves only use odd harmonics and have
a rounder, bouncier tone that sawtooths, making them ideal for bass
sounds. (Audio: 5. Square bass)
6 harmonics at the start that makes it feel percussive. We can
customise the sound by adjusting the filter and envelope settings. For
example, we can create a garage-style ‘reverse’ bass by setting the
Filter Envelope’s Attack to 50%. (Audio: 6. Reverse bass)

> bass special / synth bass
> Step by step 2. Percussive synth bass with FM8
TUTORIAL
FILES
We can create an even more percussive bass sound with In the synth’s default state, a single operator is active, giving us a
1 frequency modulation (FM) synthesis. Native Instruments’ FM8 is

arguably the best FM synth on the market, and if you don’t own it you
can download the demo from www.native-instruments.com. Load FM8
up on a MIDI track in your DAW.
2 very simple sine wave tone. By modulating the active operator, we
can add some energy in the harmonics above the fundamental
frequency. Click the Expert button in the menu on the left to call up the
modulation matrix. Right-click Operator E to activate it.
Drag up in the box below Operator E to make it modulate Operator This gives us a different timbre, and FM is particularly useful for
3 F. Turning it right up to 100 gives us something like a sawtooth

wave. Now click Operator E to bring up its parameters. Rather than
using filters to take the harmonics out, we’re using FM to add them.
4 bass sounds thanks to its ability to create punchy, percussive
transients. Drag the white square at the top right-hand corner of the
envelope down to the bottom. This causes the level of Operator E to
drop quickly. Now when you play a note you’ll hear a bass sound with a
burst of harmonics at the start. (Audio: 4. FM bass)
We can change the timbre of the FM-generated harmonics by We’ve just created a harmonically rich bass tone that would be
5 adjusting Operator E’s pitch. To do this, turn your attention to the

Ratio at the top left-hand corner of the operator’s parameters. Drag up
on it to set it to 2.00. This means that it plays at twice its original pitch.
We can’t hear the output of this operator directly, but we can certainly
6 very much at home in deep house or melodic techno. You can
adjust how strong the modulation is (and thus how obvious the
harmonics are, and how punchy the bass is) by changing how much
Operator E modulates Operator F. For example, a setting of 64 gives us
hear the effect it has on Operator F. (Audio: 5. Higher ratio) a much more mellow sound. (Audio: 6. Mellow bass)

> Step by step 3. Legato bass with pulse width modulation in Massive
TUTORIAL
FILES
1 2
PWM (pulse width modulation) is a great tool for creating Select File»New Sound to initialise the patch. Click Oscillator 1’s
sustained bass sounds with organic, rhythmic movement. We’ll wavetable name and select Pulse-Saw PWM from the VA (virtual
use NI’s Massive to make this sound – again, you can download the analogue) section of the menu that appears. Turn the Pls-Saw Pos knob
demo from www.native-instruments.com if you don’t own the synth. all the way down. This makes the sound disappear completely!
Launch your DAW and put Massive on a MIDI track.
3 4
That’s because the Pulse Width knob is turned all the way up, Leave the Pulse Width knob at 12 o’clock and drag LFO 5’s
thinning the sound out until it becomes non-existent. Play and modulation handle into the first slot underneath it. Drag up on the
hold a note, then gradually turn the Pulse Width knob down. You’ll hear slot to set the modulation amount to the level shown above. Click the 5
the sound reappear, and if you sweep it rapidly around the 12 o’clock LFO tab to bring up its controls, and turn the XFade Curve all the way
position the PWM generates a rich, buzzy tone. up so that we’re modulating the Pulse Width with a pure sine shape.
(Audio: 4. Raw PWM)
5 6
This gives us a big, rhythmic synth tone that’s ripe for filtering. Click the Voicing tab and select Monophon to put the synth in
Click Filter 1’s filter type, and select Lowpass 2 from the list. Turn monophonic mode. Set the Trigger mode to Legato. In Legato
the Resonance down to minimum and set the Cutoff to 11 o’clock. The mode, playing overlapping notes will cause the pitch of the first to
Cutoff will automatically follow whatever notes you play, so there’s no glide to that of the second; the speed of this movement is determined
need to activate key tracking manually. (Audio: 5. Filtered PWM) by the Glide Time knob in the Osc panel. (Audio: 6. Legato PWM)

> bass special / synth bass
> Step by step 4. Create an FM bassline using Massive X’s phase modulation oscillators
1 2
Turning our attention to the latest Massive X, this is now the Play a simple monophonic riff in the G1 region. Only Osc 1 is
weapon of choice for countless producers. Grab the demo from playing, and by dragging its wavetable Position dial fully
www.native-instruments.com. We’ll stick with the modulation theme anticlockwise, we’re left with the most basic of sounds: a pure sine
now, using the synth’s phase modulation options to create a frequency wave. This will be our ‘carrier’ (ie, audible) oscillator.
modulation bassline. Begin with the default Init – Massive X patch.
3 4
Massive X’s two inaudible Phase Modulation oscs – ‘operators’ in To control the influence of PM1’s effect over the course of each
FM speak – can modulate the frequency of the two audible new note, hook up a modulator (the Exciter Envelope is a good
oscillators. Lighting up Osc 1’s PM1 button engages the first Phase choice) to quickly open and close Osc 1’s PM1 Amount. A tight
Modulation osc’s effect over Osc 1, and raising the PM1 dial intros the introduction over the front end of each note creates an initial
effect. Hear how the sine’s timbre gets more complex as the PM osc percussive strike, giving us a typical FM house or techno bass sound.
adds sideband harmonics.
5 6
Contrastingly, by introducing the modulation envelope’s influence The PM oscillator’s Ratio amount sets the odd osc’s tuning in
over PM1 amount more slowly, the phase modulation becomes relation to the main oscillator. Experiment with different values to
less of a sharp ‘donk’ and more of a ‘warp’ effect. This is more of a bass hear the impact this makes to the resulting change in timbre – high
sound you’d hear in garage or grime. Take time adjusting envelope ratio values create are useful for creating more dissonant ‘screech’
settings to fine-tune the timbral change over time. effects, while a lower ratio of ½ gives us a thicker ‘wob’ timbre.

> Step by step 5. Big, dirty bass with unison and ring modulation in Dune CM
TUTORIAL
FILES
1 2
When you want to create a big, full frequency-range bass sound, Click the Bank B button to get an initialised patch. Set Oscillator 1’s
you’ll need to employ more advanced synthesis tricks. Ring waveform to square, and turn the Ring Mod knob in the Osc
modulation and unison detune are great tools for getting big bass Common panel up to 100%. This causes Oscillator 2 to act as a ring
tones, and Dune CM is capable of both. Launch your DAW and put modulation source for Oscillator 1, changing the timbre of its output.
Dune CM on a MIDI track. Set Oscillator 2’s waveform to square, too. (Audio: 2 Ring mod)
3 4
This gives us a really bold, full-sounding timbre. Turn Oscillator 2’s Now it’s time for some unison detune. In the Unison panel, set the
Semi(tone) knob down to -12. This tunes the oscillator down an number of Voices to 8. All these voices boost the output level and
octave. We can’t hear its output directly, but we can hear how it affects cause the channel to clip, so set the Volume knob in the Output panel
Oscillator 1 – it now sounds lower and beefier. (Audio: 3. Semi tuning) to 25%. (Audio: 4. Unison detune)
5 6
Set the Spread knob to 100%, which pans half of the voices hard Turn the Detune knob up until you get the right level of buzzy
left and the rest hard right, giving us a wide stereo sound. This isn’t intensity – we’re going for 12% here. Activate the Mono button in
ideal for all bass sounds (particularly not subs, which work best in the the Output panel to make the patch monophonic, and you can also try
centre of a mix), but for bass elements that occupy the mid turning up the Glide time for a bendy portamento effect. (Audio: 6.
frequencies it can work well. It also has the side effect of making room Detune and glide)
for mono elements such as beats and sub in the centre of the mix.

essential bass tips / bass special <
37
ESSENTIAL
BASS
TIPS
More than three dozen priceless nuggets of
bass production wisdom. Work through
them methodically or just dip in when you
need instant b-line inspiration
These days, producers and artists have are designed to make you think again about the
access to music-making tools of such high way you approach composing, recording,
quality and versatility, that creating a decent- programming, arranging and mixing your
sounding bassline might seem like the easiest basslines. With any luck, they’ll help you to do at
thing in the world; but the problem, of course, least some of these things better.
is that everyone has access to these tools. As There’s no magic formula here – hitting the
you marvel at how simple it is to fire up a bass low-end sweet spot can be as much about trial
preset on a synth, program a one-note and error as it is about flashes of inspiration –
pattern and loop it across your track, bear in but what we can say is that a great bassline is
mind that all of your contemporaries will the sum of many parts. You might have come up
have the option to take this path of least with a floor-shaking sound, but what good is
resistance, too – which means the ones who’ll that if you haven’t programmed a decent
stand out are those who work a bit harder. groove? Alternatively, your ear for a catchy
To put it another way, we’d argue that you bassline might be well trained, but if you can’t
should give your bass parts the attention they make yours sit properly in the mix, its earworm
deserve, as otherwise they run the risk of properties will be lost.
sounding at best generic, and at worst pretty Winning the bass race, then, isn’t going to be
lousy. Hence we present the following four easy – but with as your personal trainer,
pages of tips: these bite-sized chunks of advice you’re off to a flying start.

> bass special / essential bass tips
Designing bass sounds

01 THINK DIFFERENT
If you’re struggling to get the kind of bass
sound that you’re looking for, why not think
out of the box and try something completely
different? It’s not unheard of for producers to
use pitched-down woodwind instruments to
create basslines – try a bass clarinet, for
example. You might need to apply a bit of
processing, but this can create a nice, buzzy
bass tone.
02 EASY ON THE REVERB If you’re looking to add depth, panning effects like Cableguys’ PanShaper 3 can do more than reverb
If you think your bassline needs a little more
ambience or depth, it can be tempting to throw 05 OPEN THE ENVELOPE 08 THE ART OF NOISE
a reverb over it. Our advice is to tread carefully Once you’ve got your low-pass filter set to the See that noise generator on your favourite
in this area, as doing that can often do more right position, try using an envelope routed to bass synth? As the name suggests, it’s not
harm than good. Other effects – panning or the cutoff to open the sound very briefly as there to keep quiet; try mixing a bit of white or
chorus, for example – are usually more each new note is played. This provides extra pink noise in with your main bass sound to
suitable, and you can get good results from articulation so that the listener will really be keep the interest levels up. This doesn’t have to
layering up bass sounds, too. able to hear where each bass note plays. The be there all the way through, but it can make a
nice addition during an alternate section such
as a bridge or breakdown.
09 MAKE IT IN MONO
It’s usually better to create your basslines in
mono rather than stereo, so that they come
from a fixed, narrow source. It might sound
dull, but panning centrally is generally
advisable, too. If you are working with a stereo
synth preset, look carefully at the internal
effects it uses and turn off the ones that add
stereo width – unless width is something
you’re actively going for.
10 AUTOMATED PUMP
Do you want to get a pumping bassline without
the bother of sidechaining a compressor? The
quick and dirty way to do it is to automate the
gain of your bassline so that it rises and falls
rhythmically, though it should be said that this
technique might not give such smooth results
as doing the job properly would.
11 SOUND DESIGN TIME

When you’re adjusting your amp envelope, bear in mind that most bass sounds have fast attack times Perfecting your bass sound can be an
engrossing process, but it can become
frustrating if you’re trying to do it in a session
03 STRIP IT BACK… best settings to use when doing this are short when you’re also working on the composition
Most synthesisers these days come pre-loaded attack and decay times, and no sustain. of your bassline. Make sure you set aside
with a slew of high-quality bass presets, many dedicated time to get into the finer details of
of which sound big enough to cause a minor 06 ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK! your bass tone.
earthquake. Sometimes, though, less is Getting your amplifier envelope settings right
definitely more, and you might find that you’re is crucial. If you’re emulating an electric bass,
better off pulling out some basic synthesis for example, go for a fast attack, long decay, no
techniques and going to work on simple sustain and a fairly fast release. You can make
oscillator waveforms. your own choices when you’re creating a
synthetic tone but, as a general rule, nearly all
04 …FILTER IT OUT basslines need fast attack times. A bass that
That said, even if you’re drawn to musical sounds like it’s coming in late is not good.
styles that regularly feature sine-wave
basslines, it can be better to use a core sound 07 GET CLEAN
that’s richer in frequency content and then use Sampling basslines from existing tracks is
a low-pass filter to remove unwanted common practice, but it can sometimes be
harmonics. Doing this means that you can difficult to capture a clean groove that doesn’t
automate filter changes as your track feature any other parts. Try using a low-pass
progresses. A sine wave contains no filter to get rid of the high-frequency sounds, A noise generator, included in many synths, can add
harmonics, so there’s nothing to filter. leaving you with just the bottom end. another level of interest to your bass sound

Programming bass
12 PLAY IT NOT SO STRAIGHT
Quantise can be very useful for tidying up
recordings or locking a bassline to the grid, but
don’t be a slave to it. Some basslines will
benefit from being left ‘as is’, while others are
better ‘creatively quantised’ using the groove
template features of your DAW. Don’t forget
the good old swing function, either.
13 SLIDE AWAY
For creating smooth basslines, with the pitch
of one note sliding nicely into another, your
synth’s portamento control (also known as
glide) is your friend. Engaging it should give
you the desired effect, and it can work
wonders on electric, acoustic and synthesised
basslines. Don’t feel like you have to use it
throughout the whole track, though – it can
have more impact when dropped in at
opportune moments using automation. Roland’s TB-303 was famous for its Slide control – a now-ubiquitous function also referred to as glide or portamento
14 PERFECT PAIR
The relationship between your kick and bass plugin, there’s nothing to stop you doing it MIDI editor. Outright plagiarism is probably
will be instrumental in the success of most manually instead. Layering up samples of such best avoided, though.
tracks, and it’s something that is really best sounds on certain notes can be great for
nailed down early on in the production process accenting them – simply place them on a new 17 DOUBLE UP
of your song. This is because the combination audio track and adjust the volume to taste. There may be occasions when you want your
is most likely going to be your track’s ‘engine bassline to mimic another part of your
room’, as it were, and getting it right will give 16 LEARN FROM THE BEST arrangement exactly in order to emphasise it.
you a solid base on which to build the rest of They say that imitation is the sincerest form of In these cases, there’s no need to record the
your tune. flattery, so if you have a bassline in mind that bassline from scratch: simply copy the MIDI
you want the one you’re working on to sound data from the existing track to your bassline’s.
15 HANDS ON like, why not try emulating it first to get a feel You may need to drop it down an octave or
There are loads of products on the market that for its groove and musical structure? Once two, but doing this should save you some time.
enable you to add typical bass-playing ‘extra’ you’ve done this, you might find that you can
sounds (picks, string squeaks, scratches, etc) come up with the bassline you’ve been looking 18 PITCH-PERFECT
to your parts, but if you don’t have a suitable for just by moving a few notes around in your Deep basslines are crucial to some genres, but
it can be hard to hear if the one you’re creating
actually fits with the rest of your track when it’s
pitched down so low. If you’re wrestling with
this problem, try pitching your bass patch up a
few octaves to make sure you’re in the right
key and on the right track.
19 JUST DROPPED IN
Similarly, you can actually go so far as to
replace a few MIDI-triggered bass notes in a
phrase with real ones from a recorded bassline.
Chop them up and drop them in where they
work best, but don’t forget to use short fades
at the ends of these notes to avoid clicks.
20 LET’S GATE IT ON
Don’t underestimate the usefulness of gating.
Try applying a gate to an unruly bassline and
feeding your kick drum channel into its
sidechain input. This will ensure that your bass
notes and kicks trigger simultaneously for a
punchy, tight, clubby sound.
21 HEAR THE HARMONIES

Your bassline will often follow the root notes of
the chords being played by other instruments,
but experimenting with other notes can have
real benefits. The whole flavour of a song can
be transformed if you change the bass notes to
Applying a gate plugin such as FabFilter’s Pro-G can really help bring your bass part into line with your kick drum others that harmonise with your chords.

> bass special / essential bass tips
Arranging and mixing bass

22 DELAYED GRATIFICATION
Many of the best basslines are practically
hooks in themselves, but don’t feel like you
always have to show off the Crown Jewels
immediately. Sure, a bassline can be a great
introduction to a track, but there’s a lot to be
said for holding it back for a few bars to build
anticipation, too. Also, try starting with a
simplified version of the bassline and building
up to the full groove gradually.
23 FILTER FIDDLING
If you want to introduce a big bassline as part
of a drop, one well-worn trick is to use a high-
pass filter during the eight bars (for example)
leading up to it. If you automate this so that the
lower frequencies of the sound are introduced
gradually, you’ll build anticipation and create a
bigger impact when the full sound kicks in.
24 KEEP CHANGIN’
Even if you think you’ve got the best bassline
in the world, try to resist the temptation just to
loop it across your entire track and leave it as it
is. Subtle changes to note timings at certain
points can have a greater impact than you Mixing your bass parts successfully will be mighty tricky without some decent monitors, so invest in a pair
might expect, and little flourishes at the end of
every four- or eight-bar section (or just before frequencies are working. If you can’t stretch to single buss so that you can apply processing to
a chorus, for example) can help to keep things one of these, a spectrum analyser can give you them together while also retaining the ability
interesting for the listener. a visual guide to what’s going on down there. to tweak each layer individually.
25 SORT OUT YOUR 27 THE CLASH 29 FILL IT UP…

SPEAKERS… Although the bass guitar and kick drum can be Is your bassline lacking fullness? Try sweeping
Everyone knows that a decent monitoring best friends, their frequencies sometimes a bell-shaped EQ boost between around
setup is crucial for fruitful mixing, but this is clash. If you’re having this problem, try 500Hz down to 150Hz. A broad boost of just a
particularly true for basslines. You won’t really notching out some of the kick frequencies few dB can often be enough to provide the low-
be able to hear what’s going on with your low- from the bass part. A spectrum analyser can mid glue that’s required.
end frequencies if you don’t have a good set of help you to find these (try starting your search
speakers (or, at a push, some high-quality around 90Hz). Once you’ve located them, use 30 …OR EMPTY IT OUT
production headphones), so investing in some a narrow Q to pull a few dB from the bass. You might also find that your mix is sounding
is highly recommended. too full in this same range. In this situation, it
28 GET ON THE BUSS might be the case that the frequencies of other
26 …AND YOUR SUB As we’ve mentioned elsewhere, it’s common instruments – pianos, guitars and synth pads,
One other option is to add a sub-woofer to practice to create a bassline using multiple for example – are cramping your bass’s style,
your setup. This will enable you to get a much layers. When the time comes to start mixing, it so each one will require individual attention in
better feel for how your bassline’s sub can be very useful to route these layers to a order to strip things back a bit.
Adding a little variation to your MIDI programming can go a long way towards Using a frequency analyser – such as Blue Cat Audio’s FreqAnalyst Pro – enables you to
creating a bassline that captures your listeners’ attention throughout the track view your kick drum and bass response on one graph

Recording bass
31 TUNE UP
It sounds obvious, but you’d be amazed at the
number of recordings we hear that feature an
out-of-tune bassline. There really is no excuse
for it, particularly when your DAW will either
have a built-in tuner or be capable of hosting a
plugin that does the job.
32 BUZZ OFF
That buzz you can hear on your bass recording
might initially sound like it adds character, but
it’ll quickly become annoying. If you’re getting
noise in your signal when you record, try
moving your bass player around, as the likes of
monitors, lights, mobile phones and ground
loops can all cause it.
33 SAME BUT DIFFERENT

It’s easy to assume that all bass guitars are
born equal, but you’ll get a different type of
sound depending on the instrument that
you’re recording. Fender Precision and You can get tuning applications for your smartphone these days, so there’s absolutely no excuse for your double
Rickenbacker 4000 series basses are favoured bass player not being pitch-perfect
by rock acts, for example, while the likes of the
Fender Jazz and Music Man StingRay tend to
be used by pop and funk artists. So, if your
player has several different guitars, make sure
he or she uses the right one for the job.
34 WHICH WAY TO PLAY?

Similarly, there are several bass-playing
techniques, each of which will give you a
decidedly different kind of sound. Fingered
bass is arguably the most versatile, providing a
full, rounded tone, while picked bass has
plenty of attack and cuts through the mix. And
then, of course, there’s slap bass, which in the
wrong hands can turn out very badly indeed.
35 BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

People frequently ask if it’s better to record a
clean DI’d output or an amplified one, but the
truth is that it’s often better to use both signals.
If possible, you should keep the two separate
at the recording stage so that they can be
mixed together later. An alternative option is
to record just the DI signal, then feed it into an
amp simulator that enables you to blend it with
Experimenting with
the processed sound, as some of them do. microphone technique can
result in some interesting
36 RECORD EVERYTHING bass sounds
If your bass player is having a few practice runs
prior to recording their part for real, why not
try surreptitiously hitting the red button and
getting these down as well? Some musicians
can put too much pressure on themselves
when they’re ‘going for one’, and you might
find that the loose dummy run ends up
sounding better than the ‘real’ recordings.
37 MESS WITH YOUR MICS

There are various accepted ways to record a
bass amp, but if you want to get creative, try
sticking a mic round the back of the amp as
Consider what playing style
well. This can be used to capture a phase- you want your bassist to use –
inverted version of the front mic, and can lead fingered and picked basses
to some very interesting sounds. produce different tones

sub bass / bass special <
SUB
BASS
If you don’t reach the bottom, how can you hit the top?
Get the lowdown on making your subs sound sweet
Sub bass is a music production term Subsequently, early DnB tracks like Urban complementary mids, and use filtering to
typically used to refer to frequencies in Shakedown’s Some Justice (bit.ly/2Vs7Giv) and generate subs from full-frequency-range
the range 20-80Hz – the lowest limit of Kromozone’s The Rush (bit.ly/2Vqin5e) began sounds. When using this stuff in your music,
human hearing. Although many acoustic and to put sub bass gymnastics centre stage, and by bear in mind that such extreme low end is hard
electric instruments generate frequencies in the time dubstep rolled around in the early to monitor correctly.
this region, sub bass only really became a noughties, huge subs were de rigueur. Most rooms have a fundamental frequency in
usable sonic tool in its own right in the 80s, Nowadays, even pop music has to rock the the region of 20-200Hz, which has a negative
when the booming kicks of the Roland bottom end, so understanding how to get the effect on low-end reproduction and makes it
TR-808 and single-cycle test tones of various most out of the sub-80Hz range is an absolute hard to judge what your subs are doing. This
Akai samplers became available to dance essential for any producer of music. being the case, we strongly recommend the use
producers. This resulted in records like LFO’s In this guide to synthesising sub bass, we’ll of headphones and spectral analysis tools in
LFO (bit.ly/1ooH3oo) and JJ Fad’s Supersonic show you how to create awesome bottom-end order to double-check your sound design and
(bit.ly/1sJhyOg). sounds from scratch and layer them up with mixing choices.

> bass special / sub bass
> Step by step 1. Synthesising a basic sub
TUTORIAL
FILES
1 2
Synthesising sub bass is a very simple job using practically any Click the Bank B button to initialise the preset. Change Oscillator 1
synth, but there are a few tricks you can use to enhance the sound from a sawtooth wave to a sine by hitting the sine button at the top
and make it easier to work into your mixes. We’re going to use Dune left-hand corner of the interface. It clicks a little at the start and end of
CM to make our sub – you can find the installers for it at filesilo.co.uk. the sound, but you can remedy this by turning the Amp Envelope’s
Launch your DAW and add Dune CM to a MIDI track. Attack and Release up to 15% each. (Audio: 2. Sine sub)
3 4
Typically, you’ll only want to play a sub bass monophonically, so Add Voxengo SPAN (free from voxengo.com) to your DAW’s master
activate the Mono button in the Output panel. Because we’re using output. This shows us the signal’s harmonic content; with a sine
a sine tone, our sub only has a single harmonic – ie, no sonic oscillator we only get a single peak. Click the Sel button in Dune CM’s
‘information’ above the note you play it on. While this is useful in many Oscillator 1 panel, then drag up on the waveform display below to
circumstances, in others that extra energy might actually be desirable. select waveform 10. This triangle waveform has odd harmonics like a
square wave, but they roll off more quickly, giving us a warm, bassy
sound. (Audio: 4. Triangle sub)
5 6
To get more control over these harmonics, set Oscillator 1’s Another way to add interest to the sound is to process it. Try
waveshape to square, then, in the Filter panel, set the Key Track adding your DAW’s saturation effect to pull out the harmonics in
knob to 50% and turn the Cutoff down to around 30%. Turning the the low end, or sample rate reduction to do the same at the high end.
Cutoff up or down slightly makes the sub brighter or duller. When Both of these effects can help the sub to be heard more clearly on
you’re done, turn the Cutoff back up to 100% and return Oscillator 1 to playback systems that don’t effectively recreate the lowest octaves.
a sine shape. (Audio: 5. Square sub.wav) (Audio: 6. Processed sine sub)

> Step by step 2. Using pitch modulation to add punch
TUTORIAL
FILES
1 2
Applying swift downward pitch movement to a sub bass is a great Click Bank B to load the initialised preset, and set the waveshape of
way to make it punchier. Pitch-modulated sine tones can be used Oscillator A to sine. Next, click the Mod Matrix 1>12 button to bring
to create devastating bass bombs and banging 808-style bass drum up the modulation matrix. Set the second row of the matrix to Source:
sounds. Start by loading Dune CM up on a MIDI track in your DAW. Mod Env, Destination: Osc 1 Semi, Amount: +12. Now when you play a
note you’ll hear the pitch rapidly drop from an octave up at the start of
the sound. (Audio: 2. Quick kick)
3 4
This gives us that kick drum-like attack, and we can control how Increasing the Amount gives us a more dramatic feel. For example,
long the pitch takes to drop using the Mod Envelope’s Decay by setting it to +24 and playing the patch back in a low octave, we
parameter. With a faster time – 30%, say – we get a very quick get a big, booming bomb effect that will sound enormous on a club
movement just at the start of the sound; with a longer time – 75% – we system! Vibrato is another useful pitch modulation technique that we
get the bass bomb effect. (Audio: 3. Bass bomb.wav) can use with subs. (Audio: 4. Big bomb)
The right sub for the job

Clearly, there are plenty of ways to make and such as the one we make in our Layering mid-
process sub bass sounds. We can use
saturation to introduce more harmonics and
“If a mix contains too range bass and sub bass in Massive
walkthrough on the following page. Pick the
make our bass sound more full, or apply pitch
modulation to make it more punchy. Given all
many elements right sub and bass sounds for the track from
the start, and you won’t have to struggle so
of the options available, why would anyone
ever opt for a straight-up sine or triangle fighting to be heard, it hard fitting them into the mix.
The tricky part is when you want your
wave oscillator? track to sound really full and clean – for
The answer is simple: context. When we’re can start to sound example, if you’re producing reese-heavy
designing sounds in isolation, it’s tempting to DnB or dubstep. You may well have a layer
go all-out and make them as full-sounding
and over-the-top as possible. The problem is
pretty messy” above your sub bass that descends into the
range in which your kick and snare’s
that if a mix contains too many elements fundamental frequencies lie, and high-
fighting to be heard, it can start to sound with a harmonically rich kick drum. Sub passing those lows makes the bass sound
pretty messy. A big, low-pass filtered sounds with long, obvious pitchbends work weak. In situations such as these, sidechain
sawtooth bass might work well when it’s well in tracks where they don’t conflict with compression is often the answer – use it to
played on the offbeat and no other sounds lots of other musical elements, and filtered make the sub and bass duck in volume when
are occurring at the same time, but it could square-wave tones are generally most at the kick or snare play, giving you weighty
sound awful when it plays simultaneously home when they don’t clash with bass layers bass and punchy beats.

> Step by step 3. Layering mid-range bass and sub bass in Massive
TUTORIAL
FILES
Let’s look at how we can layer a synth sub bass line with a mid- Set Oscillator 1’s wavetable to Sin-Triangle and turn the Wt-position
1 range line to fill the latter out and provide some satisfying
rhythmic movement. Launch your DAW and put Native Instruments
Massive (demo at www.native-instruments.com) on a MIDI track. Click
the File button and select New Sound.
2 knob all the way down. This gives us a very basic sine wave sub
tone, so now we need to sequence a MIDI part to play it. Create a two-
bar part on the MIDI track and copy the sequence shown in the
screenshot above – an F0 for one bar followed by a C1 for the next bar.
Label this track ‘Sub’.
Next, let’s make a mid-range layer. Add a new MIDI track, label it Drag the modulation handle from LFO 5 into the first slot
3 ‘Mid’ and load another instance of Massive onto it. Once again,
select File»New Sound. We’ll use a band-pass filter with cutoff
modulation to turn this raw sawtooth preset into a smooth, rhythmic
mid layer. Set Filter 1’s mode to Bandpass.
4 underneath Filter 1’s Cutoff, then drag up on the slot to set the
modulation amount to the level shown in the screenshot above. Click
the 5 LFO panel and drag the XFade Curve parameter all the way up to
make the LFO shape a pure sine wave.
Copy the MIDI part from the Sub track onto the Mid track, and put The Mid layer will interfere less with the Sub layer if we transpose it
5 Voxengo SPAN on your master buss. Solo the Mid track and you’ll
see that, even though the band-pass filter attenuates the frequencies
quite a bit, there’s still some information in the lowest octave. (Audio:
Layered bass)
6 up an octave, so turn the Mid layer’s Oscillator 1 semitone tuning
up to 12.00. We can move the Mid layer out of the centre of the mix by
adding a chorus effect – for example, TAL-Chorus-LX, a free download
from kunz.corrupt.ch – as an insert. Turn the Dry/Wet level down to
about 8 o’clock for a good balance between width and weight. (Audio:
Wide bass)

> bass special / sub bass
> Step by step 4. Making a sub bass with filtering in Kontakt
TUTORIAL
FILES
1 2
If you’re using a sampled mid bass sound on a project, it’s possible In the Tutorial Files folder, you’ll find a sample called Massive
to create a complementary sub layer using a synth, but if the unison reese F0.wav. Load it up in Kontakt and set the Max voices
sample has enough low-frequency information, you might be able to to 1. Click the spanner icon to bring up the instrument editor, then click
get a more congruous sound using filtering. Launch your DAW and the Mapping Editor button and set the Root to F0.
load Native Instruments Kontakt onto a MIDI track – download the
demo version from native-instruments.com.
3 4
Create a new four-bar part on the MIDI track and sequence a In the Instrument Insert FX panel, click the + icon in the first slot
bassline playing F0 for two bars, followed by G0 for a bar, then C0 and select Filters»LowPass»SV LP4. Set the Cutoff to about 250Hz.
for the last bar. Put Voxengo SPAN on the master buss and you’ll see This gives us just the weighty low end. Name the track ‘Sub’, then
that there’s plenty of information in the 50-70Hz range of the low end. create a duplicate version of it. Name this new version ‘Mid’.
This means we can get a meaty sub out of this sound! (Audio: Mid line)
5 6
Open the interface of the Kontakt on the Mid track and locate the This gives us a lot more flexibility in terms of mixing and creative
Instrument Insert FX panel. To the left of the Cutoff knob is the processing. For example, we can use a stereo width control such as
filter mode selector; set it to SV HP4. When you play the project back Ableton Live’s Utility effect to make the Sub part of the sound
you’ll hear that we’ve got our full-frequency sound back, but it’s now in completely mono, and enhance the width of the Mid layer with TAL-
two parts that we can process separately. (Audio: Split bass) Chorus-LX. (Audio: Chorus bass)

> make music now / producer masterclass
Producer Masterclass
C.A.R.
Chloé Raunet, aka C.A.R, is a producer,
remixer and DJ whose leftfield output
diverges from intoxicating electro
pop to atmospheric electronica. In
this Masterclass she applies her skills
to two very different remixes…
London-based Canadian Chloé Raunet is

currently making music under the moniker
C.A.R. (Choosing Acronyms Randomly),
although has been involved in music production
since the early 2000s when she was asked to
produce some demos for Two Lone Swordsmen
Andrew Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood.
After a stint fronting the band Battant – with
whom she toured and supported the likes of
Ladytron – Raunet released her debut album as
C.A.R. called My Friend in 2014, followed by
PINNED (on Ransom Note) in 2018. Since building a
reputation for producing “the weirder edges of
electronic music”, she has also become an
in-demand remixer and DJ, and it’s her remixing
skills that we’re focussing on in this Producer
Masterclass. Raunet runs through two remixes of
tracks by Ride guitarist Andy Bell under his Glok
moniker, and US band The Imbeciles. But before we
get into the machinations of how to add your own
mark to two very diverse pieces of music, as
Raunet ably demonstrates (both on the video at
filesilo.co.uk and YouTube), let’s find out more
about C.A.R.’s life at the weird edge…

producer masterclass / make music now <

The C.A.R. journey

“I moved to London from Canada (via Marseille) “Our formation of
when I was a teenager, and fell into this game by
chance in the early 00s,” Raunet explains. “Back
then, I was totally immersed in the Shoreditch
laptop, guitar and
electro scene, going to parties like Haywire and
Wang. I hadn’t really thought about making
vocals wasn’t really
music but started writing little songs for my pals
on the dancefloor. It was just for a laugh at first, what people expected
but after a drunken night in Paris which
culminated in the perfect press shot, my friend back then”
Mole and I decided to try to do something a bit
more substantial, seeing as we looked the part definitely raised some eyebrows and we
and all!” struggled to properly fit into any scene, at least The Arturia Microfreak gets a lot of wear
Raunet and Mole’s efforts eventually came to in this country.”
the attention of the late, great Andrew Raunet and the band eventually found
Weatherall, along with fellow Two Lone success across the channel, signing to Parisian
Swordsman Keith Tenniswood, and they were night club Le Pulp’s label Kill The DJ, and then
then invited to record a two-track demo. releasing a debut album No Head.
“Pretty soon, these CDs were doing the “By this time, Mole had left and a new, young
rounds,” Raunet recalls. “I remember being out recruit and multi-instrumentalist, Joel Dever,
in Barcelona during Sónar, walking into a bar had stepped in to man the synths and laptop. We
and hearing a familiar sound coming from the did pretty well off it, especially in France, but
speakers. It took a few seconds for me to clock it being on the road can be strenuous. Eventually
as one of ours!” Tim went his own way, leaving Joel and me to
Soon after returning, she was asked to play write album number two. We were really close
live, so not only had to gather enough songs friends and it was an easy and natural process,
together for a set, but also get enough but as good as things were in the studio, we
musicians to form a band, which turned out to struggled to nail it live. It seemed all the
be Battant. formations we toyed with lacked the energy of
“We enlisted the help of Tim Fairplay and the original trio.”
over the space of a month we hashed out Events would then take an unpredictable,
enough music for a short set. After releasing tragic twist: Joel died a few days before the
one EP on the Haywire label, we went on tour album was due to come out. In the midst of that,
with Ladytron and Adult. I guess there was a bit Raunet had to proceed with plans alone. “It was
of a buzz around us, but our formation of laptop, brutal,” she recalls, “but I decided to honour our
guitar and vocals wasn’t what people expected bookings and hit the road with a session band.
back then, especially as we were writing songs In retrospect I think I was motivated more by
instead of dance music. The lack of live drums self-preservation than logic. Having something Raunet’s bass has been with her since early days
WATCH
THE VIDEO
In this exclusive
video, Raunet
(aka C.A.R.) goes
through two very
different remixes with
two very different
remixing strategies…
Download the video

from filesilo.co.uk or
go to bit.ly/car_glk1mb

Raunet’s
top 5 plugins
Soundtoys PrimalTap
$149
“I love playing around and transforming
sounds with this. The 80s character and grit
really suits my music and I find I can get some
really interesting outcomes messing around
with the modulation.”
soundtoys.com
Sonic Charge Permut8

$79
“This is classic and a bit old school, but I still
use it loads (especially with percussion). I
rely on a lot of samples and it’s another great
tool for transforming them.”
soniccharge.com
Valhalla Vintage Verb

$50
“This is a super affordable and very simple
plugin. It’s a good go-to reverb with no fancy
vintage interface.”
valhalladsp.com
concrete to focus on and something to do It’s great being with people who’ve so much
would save me ending up the same way, but it energy and passion.”
was an absolutely horrendous experience. All I The whole experience sounds like an
will say is it was down to all this, that C.A.R. was extremely emotional one, but it has left Raunet
eventually born.” with a strong sense of where she wants to go
“I had a queue of pent up emotions to comb with her music and a very clear production Waves CLA Effects
through and the best way I knew was through philosophy as well. $49.99
music,” she continues. “Having never produced “Stay punk,” she states. “I’m self-taught and “This is also a bit old-school, but it’s an all-in
on my own, it was a sharp learning curve, but at have always tried to embrace my imperfections, box and I use it on a lot of my vocals,
that stage I couldn’t fathom writing with anyone allowing things to happen intuitively as especially when I’m in demo mode and need
a bit of a quick fix.”
else. As a result, my first solo album My Friend opposed to pouring over hours of tutorials. I’m
waves.com
was a pretty cathartic experience.
“Kill The DJ put it out and again, it did well in
France and I managed to get a bit of money to
mix my next LP with Steve Osborne out at Real
“I had a queue of pent
World Studios. That was a super cool, ‘pinch-
myself’ process. He’s such an interesting guy
up emotions to comb
and I learned loads from him. We finished
PINNED at the end of summer 2015, but I had to through and the best Sound Dust Ghost Dulcitone 1900
move labels so it didn’t come out until February
2017. Since then, I’ve been with UK imprint
Ransom Note Records. I love working with
way I knew was £30
“I used this a lot on my last album – it’s weird,
dreamy and doesn’t sound like anything else,
them. Not only are they just down the road, but
they’re super enthusiastic and very proactive.
through music…” and has a lot of fun, esoteric controls.”
dulcitone1884.virb.com

Prophet V
Alongside the Moog
Minimoog and ARP
Odyssey, the Sequential
Circuits Prophet V is one
of the most desirable
The C.A.R.
synths ever made…
studio up close Get groovy

A ‘classic’ Roland
Chloé has access to a wide range of hardware, MC-505 Groovebox from
1998: a do-it-all, jack-of-
some of it shared with her flatmate, but all of it all-trades sequencer,

drum machine
and synthesiser.
as esoteric and bespoke as you might imagine.
Here’s a quick tour…
Three modules
Arturia Small but perfectly-
MicroFreak formed modules from
From Ancient (above) to Elektron (left), Teenage
modern, the MicroFreak Engineering (front) and
By your command a sequencer by Squarp
is one of the best small-
Analogue Solutions Instruments. Oh yes.
form synths around.
Impulse Command is a
compact and great-
sounding analogue
semi-modular synth with
an on-board sequencer.
Selected kit list

(some borrowed)
Arturia V-Collection and Native
Instrument Komplete bundles
HARDWARE
Analogue Solutions’
Impulse Command
Arturia MicroFreak
Eventide H9 pedal
Korg Poly 800 Bass and drums
Korg Polysix The MFB Tanzbär 2 is a
Korg Minilogue great drum and bass
synth while the Moog
Korg MicroKorg
Minitaur supplied bass
Moog Minitaur on the Glok remix that
Roland Boutique JU-06A C.A.R. runs through.
Sequential Circuits Prophet-5
Shure Beta 58 mic
Teenage Engineering OP-1
Yamaha CS01
PLUS
Red homemade bass
Electric piano
Jar of rice
PLUGINS
Soundtoys PrimalTap, Filter Freak
Little Plate and Little Primal Tap
Sonic Charge Permut8
Sound Dust Ghost Dulcitone 1900
Valhalla Vintage Verb
Waves CLA Effects

Apple Macbook
Running Ableton Live
along with a very varied
set of plugins, Chloé is
easily able to add her
own unique sound to
any kind of remix.
Hidden!
Down the back here we
can just recognise a
small Akai controller, a
Korg Poly 800 synths
and a Yamaha CS01.
Take control
The main studio
keyboard is an Arturia
KeyLab 49 which comes
with a software bundle
covering a lot of vintage
gear and sounds.

also not afraid to ask for help. There’s only so Here in my C.A.R. graphic designer, but had this incredible studio
much you can do as an individual and even By now we’re getting the sense that Raunet is a with all these vintage synths. Despite my love of
when you’re producing on your own, getting a fan of more left-field thinking, so you won’t be dance music, I didn’t know much about them.
fresh set of ears involved can be a good thing. surprised to learn that her introduction into the He gave me a crash course and sent me back to
For me, this happens at the mix. world of computer music production was the UK with a copy of Reason, and that’s how I
“I also know what interests me (the writing/ anything but conventional. got started.”
production side of things) and I know my “Back before Mole and I recorded our first That’s probably the coolest introduction to
limitations. If I wanted to hone the studio skills, I demo,” she recalls, “I’d been in Detroit filming a computer music production that we’ve heard,
would’ve educated myself years ago. In fact the documentary on techno music. My then and since that Reason debut, Chloé has
opposite is true. You could almost say I’m boyfriend and I had spent a few weeks remained in the hi-tech studio world… with
scared to lose the naivety of being DIY. If I know interviewing all these legends – like Mad Mike, occasional dalliances into the very low-tech.
too much, maybe those happy accidents won’t Octave One, Juan Atkins, Robert Hood and Ron “For years I relied heavily on softsynths,
happen. The same goes for singing. I’ve lost Murphy – when we met [DJ and producer] caning the Arturia and Native Instrument
count of the amount of people who’ve Magda playing at a Minus party in the basement packs,” she says. “I also owned a Korg Poly 800
suggested I take lessons over the years. It used of our hotel. We wanted to interview her too, and a MicroKorg, an electric guitar and this
to knock my confidence, but now I think of my and ended up going out to Windsor [just over wonderful, red, homemade bass with a distinct
voice as an instrument in itself, one I’m happy to from Detroit, in Canada] where she was living non-bassy sound (super prominent in the
employ. It’s unique and it sounds like me. Sure with [Canadian DJ] Marc Houle. When he heard second Battant album and the first C.A.R. LP). I
it’s not for everyone, but I’m cool with that. I’d we were staying at the hotel, he insisted we also had an electric piano and a load of cheap
rather appeal to fewer people than sound run of pack our things and head out to his for the rest percussive bits, including a jar of rice and a
the mill.” of our trip. Back then, he was still working as a squeaky chair, both of which made it into a lot
Remixing Glok’s Weaver – first steps

On video, Chloé talks through how she starts a remix from scratch, on this
occasion with the track Weaver, by Glok, aka Andy Bell
> Step by step Remixing first steps
1 2 3
Chloé initially adds all the audio stems She’ll then identify which of the audio She also chose some of Andy’s original
she is given – in this case quite a few – stems she’d like to work with. In this atmospheric guitar parts which she
into an Ableton session. She finds the BPM case she was spoilt for choice but took sections of to either loop or, in this
using rekordbox DJ software. identified a great modular bassline. case, pitch upwards.
4 5 6
Chloé then took out a slide guitar Next up it’s time to lay the foundation With chosen samples from the
stem to be her main component, of the track with a kick drum. Chloé original, including a couple of guitar
lessening its Ry Cooder character with has quite a few different sample libraries and bass parts, it’s then a case of getting a
Soundtoys effects. which she utilises for kick samples. simple arrangement together to build on.

“I had a load of Maracas to melody

cheap percussive The second part of the Glok remix sees a
bits including both a simple maraca sound transformed as Chloé
jar of rice and a gets immersed in this more melodic remix
squeaky chair” > Step by step Getting melodic with maracas
of my tracks, heavily drenched in FX.”
“Recently my flatmate’s moved his studio into
the house so there’s a lot more to play with. His
Korg Polysix and Yamaha CS01 are featured on
my new album, as well as the Teenage
Engineering OP-1 and my Korg Minilogue, which
I also use live.
“Since setting up the studio properly, I’ve
been getting a lot of use out of a Moog Minitaur,
Arturia MicroFreak, Roland Boutique JU-06A
and Analogue Solutions’ Impulse Command,
although I’m still trying to get my head around
the latter. There’s a Prophet-5 – it needs a clean
but that hasn’t stopped me from trying to get
some strange sounds out of it. I also have an
1 2
Eventide H9 pedal which I go through phases of It’s as easy to go down rabbit holes Chloé starts with some atmospheric
using loads, before packing it back into the bag. when remixing as it is when reverb by way of Valhalla’s
It hasn’t featured as much recently, but I know producing and what Chloé thought VintageVerb: a ‘post modern reverb
it’s one of those super handy bits of kit I’ll come might be the simple addition of some inspired by the hardware of the 1970s
back to soon enough. And of course there’s my maracas ended up being a lot more… and 80s’, or so they say.
Beta 58 mic! I’ve been recording with it almost
exclusively since Battant.”
Anything on her studio wish list?
“Yikes, there’s a lot of things I’d love to have,
including a Roland CR-78 [vintage drum
machine], EMS VCS3 [vintage synth], and
Eventide H3000 [legendary effects box]. I think I
need to win the lottery for most of that though,
so for now I’m pretty happy with what I’ve got. I
would really want that EMS VCS3 though; it’s
unattainable, but it would be great if someone
could make an affordable clone (there are some
out there but they’re still in the thousands). From
what I understand, getting the price down is
easier said than done. There’s also the fact a lot
of replicants start sounding like softsynths. I
3 4
don’t really see the point in that.” Chloé then adds some modulation Another SoundToys favourite, Little
by way of Soundtoys’ Filter Freak Primal Tap is used here to give the
The C.A.R. production which she describes as “a quick and sound a boing-like melody.
philosophy easy way to really change a sound”.
“I don’t think I stick to a typical structure,”
Raunet perhaps unsurprisingly tells us when
asked about her song-making ethos.
“Sometimes I start with the drums, sometimes
I’ll get a little bassline in my head, sometimes I’ll
just open up a plugin synth and start messing
about with sounds or melodies, and sometimes
I’ll start with the lyrics. I think this goes with my
intuitive ethos. It also helps keep things fresh.
When I’m struggling to find inspiration, that
flexibility really comes in handy. I also have
loads of starts to tracks I can delve into – little
loops or sketches I mighta shelved ages ago
which can trigger an idea.”
“You should never throw anything away,” she
5 6
continues. “You might hate something at the Soundtoys score a hat-trick here Starting and finishing a signal chain
time, but that doesn’t mean it won’t come in with a third plugin in the form of with a reverb might not be wise but
handy in the future. I can’t count the number of Little Plate, a great reverb. as Chloé says, “if I manage to get a
times I’ve been stuck and opened up some sound that I like through a happy
random session I’d completely forgotten about. accident I’m not going to mess with it”.

90% of it might be rubbish, but with fresh ears, a

single part might be all you need to set you Vocals to hardware and back
down a new, exciting path. Don’t be scared to
experiment and don’t be frightened of failure.
It’s a cliché, but you learn a lot from messing up.”
As Chloé mentions in the main text, she very
One standard that Raunet does employ more
often than not is, well, not that standard: “I use
much uses her voice as an instrument, and then,
my voice as an instrument as much as I do for
lead vocals. It can be chopped up or looped into
of course, there’s all that bespoke and vintage
sequences, repitched or treated with harmonics.
Also, anything can be percussion. I mentioned studio hardware to use…
before that I had a squeaky studio chair which
made it into a lot of my tracks. I’ve even used my
cat’s meow!”
With her booming career as a remixer and
> Step by step From vocals to hardware
third solo album Crossing Prior Street just
released, Raunet is clearly as busy as ever, and if
you add the DJ-ing and band experience into the
mix, she’s in a great position to dish out some
bits of advice…
“Just do your thing and try not get to caught
up in the whole game,” she states. “The music
industry is one of the toughest and if I’ve
learned one lesson, it’s that it’s easier to bob
along in the under-current than ride the waves.
I’m not a household name, but I’ve managed to
carve out a little niche for myself and survive in
one of the most expensive cities in the world,
doing what I love. I try to work on good things
with good people, regardless of money and I get
1 2
by through keeping my fingers in many pies - Here Raunet records her vocal, Chloé claims not to have a great voice
producing, songwriting, radio, DJing…” following the melody line of the but it certainly sounds the part with
guitar and creating a kind of pad sound in what she describes as a little wizardry, the
the process. first element being a gentle chorus.
“Never throw
anything away. You
might hate it but it
might come in
handy one day”
“Crossing Prior Street is a really personal one
and probably the body of work I’m most proud
of,” Raunet says of her latest release. “Normally
on an album release, I’m plagued with anxiety
3 4
Now to get some of that studio As well as triggering the MicroFreak
and sick of the songs, but this time round I’m still hardware in on the action! Chloé uses with Ableton arpeggiations, she also
genuinely into it. I’ll hopefully be doing a fair bit MIDI arpeggiations to trigger the Arturia plays another MF part and records it
of touring and I also have quite a few MicroFreak and records the audio back in. directly in onto another track.
collaborations in the pipelines. I’m currently
working on an EP with the French artists Get A
Room, and I’m doing vocals for a whole slew of
others including Patrice Baumel, Roe Deers and
Il Est Vilaine. Anna Lann and I have an ongoing
project too. We’ve done enough tracks for an EP.
Hopefully we’ll get it together, now we’re finally
living in the same city.”
Check out the accompanying video (at
284 at filesilo.co.uk or on YouTube), where
Raunet reveals some of her remixing skills,
working on two very different tracks. First up
she takes on the more melodic and slow-paced
track Weaver by Ride guitarist Andy Bell (as
Glok), and then the more in-your-face track
Medicine, by US punks The Imbeciles. Two very
different tracks but both get a unique C.A.R.
5 6
The final main part in the remix comes In fact, Chloé really was spoilt for
remix treatment. by way of another lush guitar track to choice, as she admits, by having so
which Raunet added another Soundtoys many melodic parts to play with in the
Crossing Prior Street is out now on Ransom Note plugin, the Crystallizer. remix of Weaver. It’s a different story with
Records. For more info, visit c-a-r-music.com the next remix – see opposite.

Remixing Medicine by The Imbeciles

For the second remix Chloé had a brief to use as many of the audio stems
as possible, so she took the original punk ethos and warped it, C.A.R.-style!
> Step by step Remixing an unfamiliar genre
As The Imbeciles’ punk style is not Using that drum segment to create a Initially Raunet took snippets of the
1 usually part of Raunet’s universe she

started off by choosing a simple and
familiar drum part and looping it.
2 new loop with a different feel, Chloé
then added a small part of the original
bassline and looped that too.
3 lead vocal, pitch shifted them and then
recombined them to create a completely
new chorus-like piece.
As good as that sounded, the label The warped synth sounds came by It is then transformed by more
4 didn’t approve, so Chloé removed the

pitch effects and went back to a standard
vocal snippet, still forming something
striking and new.
5 way of Arturia’s SEM, part of the
V-Collection that Raunet uses a lot in her
productions and remixes.
6 Soundtoys effects. Chloé ended up
with what she describes as a far more ‘out
there’ track, inspired by the punk ethos of
the original.
Live advice
“Keep things simple. I’ve experimented with live
drum machines and lots of live synths, but there’s
HEAR MORE
nothing more terrifying than loads of bits going
wrong or falling out of sync during a performance. I
run most of my live stuff through Ableton, as it’s so
much more stable. And make sure everything’s
gaffered, especially if you’re playing on a stage
stuffed with bass bins. I send MIDI to the MicroKorg Incognito
and Minilogue, alternating which I play live. I have a bit.ly/carincog
Roland SPD-S to bash for visual effect but the core Sore Loser
of my music is imported into the session. That’s not bit.ly/carsrlsr
to say I’m just running playback. I still have a lot of
structural flexibility and rely heavily on my old
APC40. It looks arcane but I know it by heart and WWW
have it mapped with my FX. Also be as self- c-a-r-music.com

sufficient as possible. I always bring all my leads, so https://soundcloud.com/c_a_r
you’re not relying on venues to provide things. You
twitter.com/c_a_r_music
never know what smaller places will have.”
facebook.com/pg/C.A.R.official

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June 2020 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 55

Photo: © Simon Parfrement
> interview / sleaford mods

sleaford mods / interview <
SLEAFORD
MODS
Nottingham duo Jason
Williamson and Andrew
Fearn share the tech
secrets that have given
them three Top 20 albums
The East Midlands has a very specific poignancy when you see them live. His arms
accent. To anyone south of Watford and legs jerking his body into odd, angular
Junction, it probably sounds shapes. Feet engaged in some sort of silent
stereotypically ‘Northern’, but to the tap dance as he headbutts the air in time with
trained ear there’s a big difference. It’s the lyrics of another song about life down at
sharper… clipped and rhythmic. And it’s the arse-end of society’s guest list.
great for swearing. There’s a certain “There’s nothing worse than someone
poetic beauty to someone from from England trying to rap with an American
Nottingham effin’ ‘n’ jeffin’. If you don’t accent,” says Williamson. “It can work – think
believe me, listen to Urine Mate (Welcome about Rob from the Stereo MCs – but, most of
To The Club), the opening track to Sleaford the time, it makes you sound like a f***in’ t**t.
Mods’ 2013 album, Austerity Dogs. “Do East Midlands speech might not be
you think riding around on a BMX is going glamorous, but it definitely has a groove. It
to make me feel intimidated? Smash yer can deliver passion. And, more to the point, it
face, c***, back into next week.” feels genuine. It’s my accent. It’s how I sound.
Frontman Jason Williamson’s urgent “If you listen to any album by, say, the
ranting/rapping takes on even more furious Wu-Tang Clan, the lyrics often have that

shouted, unattractive quality. What I do is my Infant, Marks Brother – Fearn had been banging
version of that. And if people don’t like the idea “Does it matter if we out a wildly eclectic collection of albums for
of a sexed-up East Midlands accent? F*** ’em!” several years. Everything from crooner pop to
It’s a surprise to hear Williamson’s speaking
voice on the phone from his home near
record on a 10-year-old Autechre-like experimental IDM, all of it put
together in his tiny flat on an old laptop and a
Nottingham. Even though the conversation is
peppered with expletives, the delivery is calm XP, not even connected couple of synthesisers.
Fearn is the bloke you see standing opposite
and measured. Joyful, even. Especially when Williamson on stage. Dancing awkwardly behind
he’s talking about the music that shaped the to the internet?” the laptop, while swigging a can of beer. Again,
Sleafords’ sound. Punk rock, the aforementioned and for obvious reasons, this interview is
Wu-Tang Clan, Andrew Weatherall’s Two Lone conducted by phone. Fearn is in lockdown at his
Swordsmen, the first wave of UK grime. It’s an Originally, the Sleaford Mods was dad’s house in rural Lincolnshire.
odd mix, but it’s given them three Top 20 albums Williamson’s solo project, but, in 2012, he was “It’s nice to have a chat with a magazine like
and led on to collaborations with the Prodigy joined by another struggling Nottingham Computer Music because some people think
and Gorillaz. musician, Andrew Fearn. Under various guises – that I don’t actually do anything in the band,”
Fearn lets his simple live setup and

choice T-shirt messaging do the
talking onstage


laughs Fearn. “They assume I’m just Jason’s

mate and I’ve jumped on stage for a laugh. I do
have a job in the Sleaford Mods. I’m the
composer… honest!”
: Does it bother you that some people

aren’t aware of your contribution to the
Sleaford Mods’ sound?
Andrew Fearn: “Not really. I’m just pretending
that I’m annoyed.”
: You don’t do yourself any favours,

shuffling about, swigging beer. You could at
least stand near the laptop and pretend to
press a few keys.
AF: “You mean like all them A-list DJs who play
their sets from the laptop? What a load of
bollocks! It’s all fake… smoke ‘n’ mirrors. I
suppose I’m trying to expose that. I’m admitting
that the music is coming off the laptop. We’ve
made some music, here it is. I hope people
appreciate that I’m not trying to fake it. I’m just
up on stage enjoying myself. It’s me that starts
and stops the music. I use an open-source audio
player called Foobar. Technically, I suppose I am
doing some work.
“There is one thing that f***s me off, though.
It’s when people call the music ‘Casio beats’, as if
we don’t put any thought into the music. OK, our
productions don’t have 200 different elements
and 50 different remixes, but we’re still writing
songs. And those songs have to be good or
people aren’t going to buy ’em. Does it matter if
we don’t have really complex drum patterns?
Does it matter if we record the songs on a
10-year-old XP laptop that isn’t even connected
to the internet? Of course it doesn’t! I’m sure
everyone who reads Computer Music has got a
mate who’s a brilliant musician and producer. He
can play every instrument and he knows
everything about EQ and compression and all
that stuff. But he never does anything with his

music because he’s too focussed on a weird
frequency he can hear on the snare drum.
“Personally, I think that’s why people like us.
The sound is underproduced… it’s raw and basic.
But it’s also real. If we went for the big, shiny
production like David Guetta, we’d sound just
the same as everybody else.”
: Is there a Sleaford Mods studio? : Acid is the main platform?

AF: “Not really. I’ve got a setup at home and we “The only thing that’s AF: “I’ve got an old Mac with an old copy of
sometimes use a professional studio in Ableton on there, but most of the work gets
Nottingham to record the vocals. We used to do
everything at my flat. It was so small that Jason
really changed is that I done on Acid. It’s literally used as multi-track
recording device. When I was a kid, I started out
had to stand next to one of the speakers when with a four-track cassette, so it makes complete
he was doing vocals. There was all sorts of spill can now buy a legitimate sense to me. Yeah, the sound can be a bit dry,
going on, but it seemed to add something that but it gets the job done.
we liked… it made the vocal sound alive.” copy of Windows XP” “I’ve got mates who keep telling me to get
Logic. Why? For a start, there’s a lot of arse-ing
: You mentioned that the computers about with Logic when you’re first setting things
weren’t connected to the internet. even exist. One of my recurring nightmares is up. Jason likes to work fast, and I think Logic
AF: “Well, I’ve just bought a Microsoft Surface that we’re about to do a big gig and the would hold us up. For me, Logic is so
Book. That’s connected. I wonder if I should operating system decides that it’s time for an comprehensive that it’s overwhelming. You’re
have gone for something a bit more powerful… upgrade. We’re safe. Ha ha! bombarded with information and different
maybe a gaming computer. But you’re talking 10 “The only thing that’s really changed is that I shortcuts for this, that and the other, when all
grand. This one was three grand. Do we need a can now buy a legitimate copy of Windows XP you want to do is bang down a bassline and
10 grand computer? Probably not. for the Lenovo laptops. Making a bit of money some vocals.
“But the live computer is an old Lenovo T61 – means that I don’t have to skulk around in the “But I also think that I’ve avoided Logic as an
for ages, that was also the studio computer – shadows. Some producers look at our setup and anti-corporate stand. Everything’s done on
and I’ve got a back-up T400. Neither of those think we’re mad. We do gigs with an out-of-date iCloud now, so it’s almost like you don’t even
are connected to the internet. It’s brilliant! The XP laptop running Acid. We’ve done massive own it. They own it. You always need their
world doesn’t know that those two computers gigs with that setup. We’ve done Glastonbury.” permission. With Acid, I don’t get any of that. It’s

on my computer and it’s mine. I don’t need a

DAW that’s going to do loads of fancy tricks… it
thinking a song, though. You can end up
squeezing all the energy and life out of it. When
Kit list
just needs to record our music and let me mess we first took an album to be mastered, the HARDWARE
about with it a bit.” engineer was really happy with us because we Roland Boutique SH-01A
hadn’t over-engineered everything. This was Doepfer Dark Energy
: Any third-party plugins? during the age when everybody was pushing Teenage Engineering OP-1
AF: “There are a few Waves plugins, including everything to the max and it didn’t leave Vermona Retroverb Lancet
the Scheps Omni Channel. I’ve used the Roger mastering engineers with much to do at all. The Boss compressor/sustain
Nichols Digital Detailer for a few years – treat it way that I look at it, a mastering studio has got pedal
gently and it works as a nice volume booster/ top of the range compressors that cost five or Ampeg Scrambler pedal
limiter. I’ve got Korg Gadgets for the iPad. Can 10 grand. Whereas I’ve got a plugin that cost 50 Microsoft Surface Book
you remember that early Moog app for the quid. If I let them do the work, it’s going to Arturia Audiofuse
iPad? I have used that for basslines. I also play sound better.” audio interface
some of them live with a Squire Jazz Bass. The AKG P220
drums come from stuff I’ve got sitting on my : How does your songwriting work? Do Squire Jazz Bass
hard drive… recordings that I made when I was you give Jason more or less finished versions Cort X electric guitar
in an experimental noise band some years ago. of songs?
I’ve got stacks of samples and loops. Cassettes, AF: “Sometimes. And sometimes a song will just SOFTWARE
CDs, Minidiscs…” come together in 10 minutes while we’re Sony Acid
working on something else. Like I said, Jason Ableton Live
: Apart from the Roger Nichols Detailer, do prefers to work quickly, so, if I get an idea, I like Various Waves plugins –
you do much tweaking with the music once to bang it down there and then. Not too much including Scheps
Omni Channel
it’s in the computer? fuss there.
Roger Nichols Digital Detailer
AF: “I have a quick look at the EQs, just to make “In the early days, Jason would come over to
iPad apps – Korg Gadget 1 and
sure there’s nothing silly going on. Bit of reverb the flat and just sing the melodies at me. I’d start 2, AUM, DM1, DM2, SeekBeats,
if it’s needed. You have to be careful about over- playing a few basslines or synth parts and Jason djay Pro and Animoog

would say, ‘That’s the one’. Once I started to “I hope that I’m not giving you the do? Put the songs on the computer and try to
understand what he was after, it was like a impression that we’re anti-technology ’cos we’re make the synths sound like real analogue
green light. I was making tune after tune after not. I’ve recently invested in a Roland Boutique synths? Who would you be trying to fool if you
tune. I love the immediacy of it.” SH-01A and a load of Modular gear – mainly do that?
second-hand Mutable Instruments stuff. And I’m “There’s a track on the English Tapas album,
: What’s on Jason’s vocal chain? Is it really digging into the theory of synth Just Like We Do. After we recorded the bassline,
difficult trying to keep a lid on the energy he programming. If I need to get techy, I can. But we realised it was a bit… hummy. But it really
throws into a vocal? what’s the point of adding stuff to a song when didn’t seem worth worrying about. Who cares if
AF: “Mainly Nectar. There’s a setting on it called it doesn’t need it. Or getting too deep into the it’s not perfect? Life isn’t perfect. Life is hummy.
Motown. I tend to start with that and tweak production side of things when a simple And, sometimes, your imperfections can
things till it sounds OK. It seems to keep it all in approach sounds better. become perfections. They can make the
check without ruining the feel of the vocal. “There’s a lot written about the art of difference between somebody listening to your
Again, people have had a go at me for using production. True sound and all that kind of music and somebody ignoring it.”
presets. What’s the problem? If a preset gets rubbish. What is true sound? Take a song like
you in the ballpark, start there and adjust it until Cuddly or BHS. Both of them were made on the The Sleaford Mods’ career-spanning compilation
it’s your preset. iPad using Korg Gadget. What am I supposed to album, All That Glue, is out now on Rough Trade
No filters… apart from

when it comes to coffee.
Left to right: a Squire Jazz
Bass and a Cort X
electric guitar

Jason Williamson on
the Sleaford Mods’
musical influences
“Even at five or six, I started taking music
seriously. That could have been the theme tune
to my favourite cartoon or the music that was in
the charts… Abba, Dr Hook or the Osmonds. My
stepbrother had a few punk albums and, when I
got a bit older, I became obsessed with the Sex
Pistols and the Jam. I loved the anger and the
energy. When I joined my first band at 11, I tried to
recreate that same emotion. Unfortunately, the
drummer thought I was being too aggressive, so
he left. I just wanted the music to mean
something. I wasn’t prepared to put up with the
light-hearted nonsense like the ones you saw on
Top of the Pops.
“Growing up on a working class estate in the
70s and 80s gave music added importance. So
many of life’s references came from music. I
didn’t know about stuff like pasta and
courgettes. We had no access to these things. I
learned about the world through music. That
meant music needed to say something. It had to
be relevant.
“Would I call the Sleaford Mods an electronic
band? Yeah, because we make our music on a
computer. There are some real instruments on
certain tracks, but Andrew does most of the work
inside the computer. Even after all these years,
people still say that music made with software
isn’t real music. Where’s the craft? How come you
didn’t spend years learning the guitar? That’s
bollocks. The first time I started making music
with a computer, I felt liberated.
“I made four albums before I met Andrew, but I
was still trying to work out what kind of sound I
wanted. Once we started working together, it
began to gel. I liked hip-hop… the simple Wu-Tang
beats. But I wanted the punk influence, too. John
Lydon, Mark E. Smith. The heavy bass came from
the Two Lone Swordsmen album, From The
Double Gone Chapel. A huge, dubby bottom end.
And then there was grime. I’m talking about the
first wave. I was digging out YouTube videos of
tracks being made by local gangs in Nottingham.
They sounded so rough and tinny, but there was
so much character. Put that lot in a melting pot
and you’ll end up with Sleaford Mods.
“Before things started happening for us, I’d HEAR MORE
been making music and trying to get somewhere
for a long time. That makes you quite jaded and
cynical. You get to a point where the music is very
rough and ready, and you don’t really care about
the consequences. By that, I mean you don’t
worry about pissing people off. That all fed into
the music, too. Urine Mate (Welcome To The Club)
“We’ve never been precious about what we bit.ly/slfdmds_urnmt
do, which came in very useful when we started Jobseeker
getting a bit more successful. Yeah, it was bit.ly/slfdmds_jbskrs
fantastic to be on telly and know that people
were buying your records, but we were always WWW
sleafordmods.com
careful to check our egos. It was like we were
constantly auditing ourselves and the music. Are soundcloud.com/sleafordmods

we still pushing forward? Is the music still valid? twitter.com/sleafordmods
Have we turned into music business wankers? As
long as we can stay on the right side of honesty, facebook.com/SleafordModsOfficial
we should be alright.”

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reviews <
The latest computer music gear tested and rated!

Our promise
We bring you honest, unbiased
appraisals of the latest computer
music products. Our experts apply
the same stringent testing methods
to all gear, no matter how much
hype or expectation surrounds it.
What the
ratings mean
1-4 A seriously flawed product
that should be avoided
5 This product’s problems
outweigh its merits
6 A decent product that’s only
held back by a few flaws
7 Solid. Well worth considering
8 Very good. A well-conceived
68 APPLE LOGIC 10.5 9

and executed product
Excellent. First-rate and
The new point update has an incredible number of additional among the best you can buy
features and instruments, and some might be familiar… 10 Exceptional. It just doesn’t get
any better than this!
72 74
Tracktion Oeksound
Waveform Pro Soothe 2
76 78 79
Mastering The Mix Mini reviews Soundware roundup
Mixroom
Awarded to products A product has to really If the product In the opinion of the
that challenge existing impress us with its exceeds expectations Editor, the best product
ideas and do something functionality and for its price, it will reviewed in the
entirely new features to win this one receive this gong magazine this month

> reviews / apple logic 10.5
Apple
Logic 10.5 FREE
Apple’s venerable DAW takes the fight to Ableton Live, with a couple of
familiar additions, but can it compete?
The arrival of Logic Pro X 10.5 – which Apple picture, ideal for compositional and module of the same self-explanatory name; the
calls the “biggest update to Logic since the experimental use in the studio, and live redesigned Drum Machine Designer; and a
launch of Logic Pro X” – has no doubt come as a performance shenanigans onstage. complete rebuilding of the venerable EXS24
welcome distraction for Mac-based musicians. Then there’s the new Step Sequencer, which sampler as two new sample playback devices –
And there’s certainly plenty of enticing new facilitates programming of beats and melodic Sampler and Simpl… er, sorry, Quick Sampler.
stuff in Logic Pro X 10.5 (free for existing users) lines in an interface “inspired by classic drum A potentially huge deal for those dance and
to get excited about, as the fruity tech leviathan machine workflows”; Drum Synth, which is electronic producers who have long found
makes obvious but positive moves towards a very similar proposition to the Maschine 2 themselves torn between the supremely deep
bringing its blockbuster DAW in line with more, but resolutely linear workflow of Logic and the
shall we say, progressive contemporaries such arguably less high-spec but inspiringly freeform
as Ableton Live, Bitwig Studio, FL Studio and
even Native Instruments’ Maschine.
“The most seismic new tech-jazzery of Ableton Live, Live Loops brings
the majority of the latter’s Session View
To that end, the most architecturally seismic functionality to the former.
new feature is the not wholly unexpected feature is the The Live Loops Grid is an alternative – but
introduction of the Live Loops system, as interlinked and, yes, simultaneously visible –
already established in the iOS version of Logic’s
junior sibling, GarageBand.
introduction of the Live interface to the regular Tracks View, hosting
multiple tempo-synced audio or MIDI loops in
This brings Live/Bitwig-style non-linear ’cell-
based’ loop recording and playback into the
Loops system” ’cells’ on each track, one of which can be played
back at a time.

apple logic 10.5 / reviews <
“Live Loops is brilliantly

designed… and the
ability to partner it
with Logic Remote
is awesome”
The idea is to jam around with drum loop
variations on one track, bass loops on another,
etc, to create an on-the-fly arrangement, Sampler (left) and Quick
optionally recording your ‘performance’ directly Sampler utterly transform the
into the Tracks View, where it can be edited and Logic sampling experience
finessed as usual. The relationship is
bi-directional, so you can also drag clips out of The update we’ve been waiting for
the Tracks View into the Grid.
Playback is quantised, so triggered cells wait As enduring as it’s proven, the EXS24 LFOs and five Envelopes, a second filter
for the next specified beat or bar division before sampler was overdue a major update – and a ton of new filter types. Everything
taking over from the currently playing loop; and with Logic Pro X 10.5, we’ve finally a pro sampler should be in 2020.
individual cells can be set to retrigger when got it, in the shape of Sampler. That’s not the end of 10.5’s sampling
clicked, or trigger only when ‘held’ with the The main issue with EXS24 has betterment story, however, as
mouse; and various ‘start behaviour’ options always been its mad, fiddly interface, Sampler’s baby brother, Quick Sampler,
allow for launch timing variation. and Sampler utterly transforms it into provides a leaner interface (two LFOs,
Vertical ‘scenes’ are also supported – click the an intuitive new format based on five three envelopes, one filter, full sample
arrow at the bottom of a column to trigger all concealable panels (Synth, Mod Matrix, editing and audio recording, but only
cells in that column – and a single cell on each Modulators, Mapping and Zone), with four mod matrix slots) for effortlessly
track, or a scene, can be queued for launching big, clear controls and good visual mapping a single sample, or slices
via a key command. In fact, key commands are modulation feedback. extracted therefrom, across the
as well supported by Live Loops as they are It’s a pleasure to use, no matter how keyboard. A great alternative to the full
throughout the rest of the DAW. complex your sampled instruments multisampling enchilada, even if the
might get, and the transition from old similarity to Live’s Simpler is glaring.
Remote working to new is seamless, with existing EXS24 Finally, we’ll mention the Auto
Alongside Live Loops, GarageBand’s patches and projects loading into Sampler plugin, which automatically
XY-controlled Remix FX feature has also made it Sampler flawlessly. generates mapped Sampler patches
over to Logic Pro X 10.5, as a plugin offering a And there are plenty of all new from software and hardware MIDI
range of XY- and slider-controlled effects features too, including auto drag-and- instruments (every DAW needs one!);
(Repeater, Filter, Wobble, Downsampler, etc) for drop sample mapping (with pitch and the sorcerous automatic
‘DJ-style’ performance processing. They sound analysis), properly integrated sample conversion of sets of samples dragged
great and are a lot of fun, if not something the and mapping editors, Flex Time into the Track list to Sampler or Drum
serious producer is likely to get much mileage implementation, an increase to four Machine Designer patches.
out of.
Live Loops have been made to work with the
Logic Remote iOS app, too. This impressive
adjunct to Logic Pro turns your iPhone or iPad
into a comprehensive wireless multitouch MIDI can get your fingers round at once, and Remix Remote is awesome, opening up a degree of
controller and key command launcher, and now FX manipulation by touch or even tilt. control that the archaic combo of mouse and
it also presents your Live Loops Grid just as it Live Loops is brilliantly designed, and keyboard just can’t match.
appears on your Mac, enabling perfectly perfectly fluid in its implementation and Although an equivalent to Live’s Follow
responsive triggering of as many clips as you workflow; and the ability to partner it with Logic Actions is notable by its absence, this really is a
dream come true for the Ableton-envying or
dual-DAWing Logic user – and that’s a very large
Live Loops’ audience indeed.
integration with
iOS apps gives new Get in Step
levels of control The Step Sequencer is a new editor for the
programming of note, automation and MIDI CC
pattern sequences, invoked by creating a
Pattern Region (a new clip type) in the Tracks or
Live Loops View. Each Pattern Region is
effectively a self-contained sequencer with its
own configuration of lane assignments (MIDI
notes, Drum Machine Designer kit pieces or
automation/MIDI target parameters/CCs), time
base, individual lane lengths and playback
directions, swing amount, etc – a novel
paradigm that yields remarkable versatility.
Each step is programmable in terms of
Velocity, Gate time, Note Repeat (up to 16
repeats), triggering Chance, Start Offset, Step

> reviews / apple logic 10.5
“This is the
modernising step up
that many Logic users
have been waiting for”
Rate (overriding the global or lane-specific Rate)
and Tie, and the sizeable in-built library of preset
patterns can be added to with some of your own
personal creations.
Easy to use and beautifully integrated, Step
Sequencer is a triumph. The only thing missing
is Logic Remote support, which we’ll be keeping
our fingers crossed for.
Designer drums
Drum Synth is a simple plugin instrument
dedicated to generating fully synthesised The new Step Sequencer with its ‘Pattern Region’ format
percussive sounds in four modes: Kicks, Snares
and Claps, Percussion, and Hats and Cymbals.
Every mode divides into various subtypes least) creative avenue for electronic producers,
(Heavy Kick, Punch Kick, Electronic Snare, Step Sequencer is flexible and powerful, Drum
Mechanical Clap, Crash Cymbal, Ride Cymbal, Synth sounds wicked, Drum Machine Designer is
Shaker, etc), each with its own appropriate set of slicker and more useful than before, and
up to eight editable parameters, and they’re all Sampler at last pulls EXS24 kicking and
on the money sonically, and make building vibey screaming into the 21st century.
electronic kits a quick and focused process. On the downside, we’ve experienced crashes
Drum Machine Designer has been with a few plugins that definitely didn’t crash
disconnected from the ancient Ultrabeat and before, which is a bit troubling. We’d imagine
retooled, Ableton Drum Rack-style, for the that fixes for those will be rapidly forthcoming
integration of Drum Synth and Quick Sampler from all those developers affected, but you
(see below) into its 48-pad kits, with the controls might want to hold off on upgrading until you’re
for either appearing right within the DMD sure your essential instruments and effects are
interface. That alone makes it a vast all compatible.
Alternatively
improvement on the previous version, but the Ultimately, even though Apple is largely Ableton Live 10
addition of input and output MIDI note mapping following trends here rather than setting them, 255 » 9/10 » £69-£539
doesn’t hurt either. this is the modernising step up that many Logic The original Live DAW – that
users have been waiting for. We’re genuinely changed the way we think about
Classy and contemporary amazed we’re not being charged for it as a full composition – is still the one to beat
Logic Pro X 10.5 is indeed the DAW’s most version update.
profound update under Apple’s ownership yet. Image Line FL Studio
Live Loops opens up a radical new (for Logic, at Web apple.com 260 » 9/10 » £76-£734
With a huge set of features and a
lifetime of free upgrades, FL Studio
rightly has a huge fan base
Verdict
For Live Loops nails the non-linear
workflow concept
Step Sequencer is fabulous
Sampler is a superb EXS replacement
…although you might actually use Quick
Sampler more!
Drum Synth and Drum Machine
Designer are excellent
Against Only four mod matrix slots in

Quick Sampler
Issues with some third-party plugins
In its unstated aim of achieving functional

parity with rival DAWs, Logic Pro X 10.5
adds a wealth of empowering features and
systems, including grid-based clip
launching and an embarrassment of
sampling riches
Drum Machine Designer has been reimagined along Ableton-esque lines 9/10

> reviews / tracktion software waveform pro 11
ACTIONS PANEL UNDOCKABLE PANELS EDIT OVERVIEW ARRANGER TRACK VIEW
A deeply customisable Now you can even undock Move and resize the box Move and copy chunks MANAGER
‘inspector’ and control the Arrangement panel! to zoom and pan the of your arrangement Now you can
system, introduced with Arrangement panel around at will hide and reveal
Waveform 10 even more
GUI elements
CHORD TRACK LAYOUT

Audio clips now MANAGER
follow your chords, Save and
just like MIDI recall window
layouts
CONTROL
PANEL
Click to reveal
an array of clip/
track-contextual
menus and ARPEGGIATOR
parameters One of five
excellent new
MIDI effects
QUICK ACTIONS WINDOW QUICK ACTIONS BAR
Pop out a touchscreen-orientated panel Switch between sets of custom
for mixing and Quick Actions triggering shortcuts and Macro triggers
Tracktion Software LINUX

RASPBERRY
PI
Waveform Pro 11 $119

Does 2020’s update to this resolutely ‘different’ DAW add enough to
keep things moving without compromising its unique proposition?
Metronomic in its regularity, this year’s option to replace or swap them; and if you select whole arrangement, with an overlaid interactive
Waveform Pro update introduces another one or more tracks prior to dragging the box marking out the horizontal range currently
round of new features to Tracktion Software’s Arranger clip, only the contents of those tracks visible in the Arrangement panel. Clicking in the
innovative DAW, as well as general under-the- will be moved or copied. It’s a straightforward Overview repositions the playhead (and view
hood optimisation and stability improvements. take on an idea that’s been around for a while in ‘port’) to that point on the timeline, and
We’ve been here many times before, so we’ll not other DAWs, making laying out song structure dragging within the box first moves the
waste valuable space going over the frameworks quick and easy. playhead left or right, then pushes the box along
fundamentals of the software again – see the Above the timeline sits the Edit Overview – in the same direction when the playhead
Waveform 9 review in 257 for a synopsis, and/ again, not an original invention by any means, reaches an edge. You can also click directly on
or head to the Tracktion website and download but one that we’re glad to see implemented in the top and bottom of the box to drag it left and
Waveform Free to get a feel for its gleefully Waveform Pro. This is a thumbnail view of the right, and on the left and right edges to resize it,
idiosyncratic perspective and workflow. Instead, zooming the view in and out. Strangely, both of
let’s get straight into the new stuff…
“It’s a straightforward these functions are made harder than they need
to be by the box lighting up when the mouse
Making arrangements
The new Arranger Track enables sections within take on an idea that’s pointer nears the edge, but not actually being
‘picked up’ until the edge is clicked precisely (it’s
the arrangement to be defined as ‘blocks’ for more annoying than it sounds). Happily, though,
moving around. Simply create an Arranger clip,
then drag it left or right to move or copy all
been around for a the issue is rendered largely moot by the ability
to effortlessly draw the whole box by dragging
audio and MIDI clips that fall within its bounds.
Dragging one clip on top of another offers the
while in other DAWs” in the Overview with just about any modifier key
held – Shift, Command, Option or Ctrl.

tracktion software waveform pro 11 / reviews <
“The creative rewards

to be reaped here are
well worth the time
investment required”
The Quick Actions Bar is a nifty expansion on
the Actions Panel introduced in Waveform 10.
Sitting below the Arrangement panel, it houses a
row of buttons, each triggering any one of a
Easily play
huge list of editing, navigation, recording,
elaborate
automation and other shortcuts, or a User harmonic
Macro. The bar switches between as many sequences with
button sets as you want to make (five prefab Chord Companion
sets are included), and buttons can be named,
coloured and repositioned by dragging and
dropping. It’s endlessly useful, although we’d
like a quicker way to switch up and down New MIDI effects
through button sets than the current menu –
‘next’/‘previous’ key commands at least. Apart from the somewhat oversold randomisation of position, length and
Designed specifically for touchscreen usage, new Artisan effects (see main text), velocity, and a long menu of preset
the associated Quick Actions Window presents Waveform Pro 11 doesn’t add any audio patterns to get started with.
multiple stacked Quick Action Bars and the plugins to its internal roster. Instead, MIDI Filter is a very basic utility for
Mixer for use with touchscreen displays. This is this time round, Tracktion Software filtering and routing notes to separate
an elegant, effective solution that’s crying out have thrown in five new MIDI instruments in a Rack, while MIDI
for a partner iOS/Android app. It also makes us processors – and very nice they are too. Monitor lists all incoming MIDI events,
wish the Quick Actions Bar supported the First up, Arpeggiator delivers all on individual tracks or (inserted into
MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar – surely a no-brainer. your standard arpeggiation options, the Master output) the whole project.
plus chord modes, swing and Finally, Chord Companion brings a
Get me the Manager randomisation, input shaping and a powerful new weapon to Waveform’s
Waveform’s View Manager is a pop-out panel in full-on polyphonic step sequencer. already formidable compositional
which various sections of the interface can be The puzzlingly named Note arsenal. Chords and modes of all kinds
hidden and revealed, and as of v11, those Repeater is in fact a trancegate-style are assigned to single MIDI notes by
sections include the Arrangement panel, Edit processor, generating rhythmic dragging them onto key slots, and
Overview, Arranger Track and Quick Actions Bar. patterns out of held notes. There’s tarted up with Arpeggiator, Repeat and
The Arrangement panel has also been added to velocity adjustment, variable Random modules.
the list of undockable windows. Window layouts
across one or multiple displays can be saved
and recalled now, too, and a specific display can
be dedicated to housing plugins.
Users of the Chord track will be delighted to of the tax in CPU cycles that it introduces. Alternatively
learn that audio clips, as well as MIDI, can now Last and, actually, least, 122 new ‘Artisan
be made to follow its melodic dictates. As the Collection’ plugins take the total to 186. With Cockos Reaper
transposition is linear, they need to be descriptive names such as Bit Glitter, Dust 224 » 8/10 » $60
monophonic, but there’s plenty of retro chord Bunny, Soft Gate, Purest Echo and Dither Me Another ‘indie’ DAW that’s found its
sampling-style mileage to be had with Timbers, they’re cool to play around with, but as own committed fan base
polyphonic material. reskinned versions of plugins that are readily
Plugin sandboxing designates plugins to available to all for free from Airwindows Bitwig Studio 3
their own processing thread, separate to that of (airwindows.com), they’re of no particular 275 » 10/10 » €379
the DAW itself, so that they don’t bring the whole worth beyond convenience. Similarly individualistic, despite its
DAW down when they crash. It seems to work clear Ableton Live influence
fine, and individual plugins can be taken out of Riding the Wave’
the sandbox if you trust them, alleviating some Waveform Pro 11 offers more than enough new
goodies to warrant the $69 upgrade price.
However, as is the case every year, the manual Verdict
has yet to be updated at the time of writing, so
you’re on your own when it comes to figuring For A solid showing of improvements
out how to use them, although those already and new features
accustomed to the DAW’s unique operational Useful new MIDI effects
vibe shouldn’t have too much trouble. Quick Actions Bar and Window are great
For newcomers, v11 doesn’t try to simplify the Plugin sandboxing
challenging learning curve for which Tracktion/
Waveform has always been known, but the Against Manual out of date. Again
creative rewards to be reaped here are well Artisan Collection still leaves a sour taste
worth the time investment required. There’s still
nothing else quite like Waveform, and if it clicks Don’t misinterpret Waveform Pro 11’s
with you, your music-making life may never be offbeat workflow and approach – this one-
the same again. of-a-kind DAW is a production powerhouse
The Quick Actions Window puts mixer control and

shortcuts at your touchscreen-empowered fingertips Web tracktion.com 9/10

> reviews / oeksound soothe2
SOFT/HARD ATTACK/RELEASE SIDECHAIN
MODE Tweak the response Route in an external keying
The new Soft mode timing of the dynamic signal for interdependent
makes using soothe2 resonance reduction dynamic EQ processing
supremely easy
DEPTH
EQ BANDS
Increase or
An extra EQ
decrease the
band brings
amount of
the total up
processing
to six
applied
SHARPNESS
Sharpen and
‘blunt’ the
resonance cuts
SELECTIVITY
Tells soothe2 how
prominent a
resonance has to STEREO MODE DELTA BAND LISTEN EQ/FILTER TYPES
be to be detected Balance the processing Listen to the removed Monitor the Delta for Choose from six
between left/right or resonance for monitoring individual bands parametric modes
mid/side or creative purposes and four filter slopes
oeksound
soothe2 €199
After the runaway success of version 1, the second iteration of this
already-excellent plugin takes the dynamic EQ concept to new heights
Released in 2016, the original soothe was that employs spectral processing voodoo to notch out the resonances within that band more
billed as an “automatic dynamic frequency detect unpleasant and intrusive resonances, profoundly as the volume increases. The
notcher” designed to effortlessly eliminate then dynamically attenuates them through the process is beautifully visualised in the
harshness and overly bright top end in any application of numerous level-sensitive notch spectrogram display, and the precision of the
instrumental or vocal signal. It scored 8/10 in filters. Rather than directly cutting and boosting individual notches can be tightened or widened
our review ( 239), where we praised its like a regular EQ, the band nodes in the main with the Sharpness knob, while the ‘rigour’ of
uncanny ability to transparently suppress display control the reduction sensitivity within the overall response – how choosy the detection
uncomfortable mid-high resonances – as long as their covered frequency ranges – raise a node to algorithm is, loosely speaking – is governed by
its application was driven by judgement and the Selectivity control. The big Depth knob,
mixing experience. meanwhile, increases and decreases the size of
We would surmise, based on how often we
see it in the plugins folders of producers at all
“soothe2 marks a the notches globally, and the Delta button
switches to monitoring of the difference
levels, that soothe has been something of a hit.
For the sequel, then, have Finnish developers complete rewrite of the between the wet and dry signals – ie, the
resonances being attenuated – with the
oeksound added enough to tempt upgrades
and increase the appeal to potential new users? plugin, claiming less spectrogram inverting to visualise them.
New in 2
soothe sayer
Before we look at what’s new in soothe2 (VST/
system overhead and soothe2 marks a complete rewrite of the plugin
from the ground up, so as well as the new
AU/AAX), let’s get a quick overview of the plugin
in general. In a nutshell, it’s a dynamic EQ plugin
faster UI rendering” features and improvements, which we’ll get to
momentarily, it now also claims less system

oeksound soothe2 / reviews <
“soothe2 works its

magic down to 20Hz,
doing away with
rumble as brilliantly as
excessive brightness”
overhead and faster UI rendering. We can’t say
we see any great difference in the former (the
CPU hit is still reassuringly low), but the graphics
do indeed seem noticeably smoother and more
responsive. More importantly, latency has also
Soft mode is almost invariably the best place to start with soothe2
been reduced by 50% – good news. It’s also
worth noting that it installs as a separate plugin,
so projects using the original soothe won’t be
affected by the upgrade, for better or worse.
For many users, the headlines with soothe2
Harder, faster, stronger
will be its extended processing range, and the soothe has always been a processor transparency and preservation of
improvements made to the EQ controls. that requires a delicate touch, and with transients. The ‘down side’, if you want
Whereas, previously, processing was focused on soothe2’s new Soft mode (the other to call it that, is less detailed control for
the mids and highs, soothe2 works its magic all mode, Hard, is more like the previous narrowing in on specific problem
the way down to 20Hz, doing away with rumble behaviour), the ‘intensity’ of the resonances, and the ruling out of
and sub bass overload as brilliantly as it does processing and operational sweep of extreme dynamic cuts thanks to the
sibilance and excessive brightness at the other many of the controls can be reined in, lower depth of resonance reduction.
end of the spectrum. It’s a welcome retraction of tightening the tolerance of the effect The addition of Soft mode is a canny
what now feels like a needlessly arbitrary and making it harder to overcook. move on oeksound’s part, giving less
limitation of the previous version. oeksound describe Soft mode as “more experienced engineers a relatively
soothe2 also quietly embarrasses its autonomous, easier to use and faster to foolproof option for safety’s sake, and
predecessor in the EQ department. Not only has set up [than Hard mode]”, and that experts a quick and thoroughly
an extra band been added, for a total of two perfectly sums it up – the shortened effective alternative to the twitchier
filters (low- and high-pass) and four parametric parameter ranges greatly reduce the setup of old for ‘workhorse’ usage. In
bands, but the filters now come with 6, 12, 24 potential for damage and speed up fact, Soft mode is so well suited to the
and 48dB roll-off options, and all parametric workflow, and the lowered sensitivity majority of expected use cases, that it’s
bands offer a selection of modes beyond the to input signal level results in greater the default when loading the plugin.
lonely Bell shape of old – High and Low Shelf,
Tilt, Band Shelf and Band Reject. The three
shelves prove the most useful of these, but all
are appreciated. Oh, and the Delta for individual
EQ bands can now be monitored solo. Link parameter, too, with the introduction of the Alternatively
The EQ band controls have been moved to Balance knob, which balances the depth of
the bottom of the spectrogram display from the processing between the left and right or mid Soundtheory Gullfoss
left side panel, which is now home to soothe2’s and side channels, as determined by the stereo 257 » 9/10 » £150
new Attack and Release controls. These adjust Mode toggle. Every EQ band also gets its own A fully automatic EQ that literally
the onset and decay times of the resonance Balance control (although the Mode is global), does all the hard work for you – but
attenuation notches, enabling their dynamic for tilting the stereo emphasis within specific could be more intuitive
response to be tailored to the envelope of the frequency ranges.
source material. The Attack stage is particularly The addition of a sidechain input means Sound Radix SurferEQ2
useful when you want to let percussive soothe2 can base its dynamic response on a 237 » 9/10 » $199
transients pass through unaffected. different track to the one being processed – This pitch-tracking dynamic EQ is
soothe2’s stereo manipulation capabilities ideal for sorting out spill between drum kit mics, similarly miraculous but has a
have been extended beyond the original Stereo and clearing space for vocals, guitars and other different remit to soothe2
lead elements in the mix. And finally, you can
now specify separate oversampling and time Verdict
resolution settings for real-time processing and
offline rendering. For Soft mode is a ‘magic wand’
Now covers the full frequency range
Mix salvation Six much more versatile EQ bands
For the reasonable €50 fee, soothe2’s M/S processing and envelope controls
transformative new features – most notably Soft Sidechain input
mode, the wider frequency range, new EQ types,
and mid-side processing – make it an absolutely Against If we were to nitpick, per-band
essential upgrade for any existing user. And for Attack and Release would be nice
those yet to see the light, this remarkable plugin
– surely up there with the most powerful yet Improving on v1 in ease of use, adaptability
accessible mix-fixing tools money can buy – and transparency, soothe2 is a dynamic EQ
simply demands to be test-driven. Stunning. that no producer should be without
soothe2 includes a sizeable library of task-specific

presets, presented in a cute pop-out browser Web oeksound.com 10/10

> reviews / mastering the mix mixroom
BYPASS & SOLO MENU
Bands can be individually bypassed Use the options to select filter type, MAIN BYPASS &
and soloed from the band graphic add bands and to reset targets OUTPUT
Bypass the whole
plugin, hover over this
STEREO to reveal slider
Bands include mid suggested gain
sides balancing, and compensation level
the value is reflected
here by the gap in
the band graphic FREQUENCY,
BANDWIDTH AND GAIN
Frequency, bandwidth and
gain are set in place by
GREEN TARGET dragging and resizing each
This displays the band graphic
target curve based
on the selected
preset and the audio VERTICAL LAYOUT
from your track The EQ is laid out
vertically with high
frequencies at the top
and low at the bottom
GREY EQ CURVE GAIN DISPLAY RANGE

This displays the Adjust the gain range
applied EQ curve that is displayed
which can be set on screen
manually or TARGET EQ PRESETS
intelligently Click to use another audio file Access more than 100 instrument
to define the target EQ curve and mastering presets
Mastering The Mix

Mixroom £49
Intelligent plugins make mixing a quicker and more reliable process. Let’s
see how this latest EQ can help with your mixing and mastering.
Mastering The Mix first got our attention bottom. Each band is represented by a coloured Each band includes solo, bypass and the
with their easy-to-use Levels metering box which you can move and adjust. The height option to rebalance the mid and sides
plugin. Since then the team have delivered some of the box is the bandwidth and the vertical components. You can also process just the mid
excellent plugins aimed at making your mixing position defines its frequency. The graphic sits in or just the sides component alone, though not
and mastering tasks quicker and the outcomes a 3D space and gain adjustments change the both independently using the same band. Bands
better. Last year’s Bassroom EQ is a perfect box size to give the impression it’s nearer for can overlap completely, so you could use two
example, delivering bass-focused EQ via their gain boost and further away for cut. bands to achieve this outcome or simply as a
innovative 3D style vertical layout. Their latest way to achieve more gain at a specific
plugin, Mixroom (VST, VST3, AU, AAX) employs frequency. Bands up to 1.6kHz are peak shape
the same layout, but this time the EQ handles
frequencies from 320Hz to 20kHz. The plugin
“Mixroom’s true and above this can be set to either peak or
shelving. However, there’s no low shelf option or
combines manual and intelligent operation,
incorporating both presets and the option to power lies in its high and low pass filters.
The overall EQ mode can be set to either
analyse your own audio files. Let’s take a look at
what’s on offer. intelligent EQing linear or minimum phase, and there’s an
additional global option to set the EQ to either
mixing or mastering mode. This influences the
Layout
Mixroom is an 8-band configurable EQ that uses
capability, done by overall gain and Q bandwidth available, with the
mastering setting offering a maximum of +/-4dB
a vertical layout with high frequencies at the top
of the window and low frequencies at the
target and analysis” and mixing +/-12dB. Note that neither setting
offers massive cut and boost or super narrow

mastering the mix mixroom / reviews <
“As a mix tweaking

processor it’s great: a
quick way for a novice
to get a handle on their
overall mix EQ”
bandwidths. Rounding things off is global
bypass and output level, and this incorporates a
suggested trim to help you match pre and post
Mixroom
EQ levels. makes it
easy to
Intelligent create
If you’re confident enough at EQing then target EQ
Mixroom makes for a pretty decent experience. curves
from any
The plugin opens as a blank canvas to which
audio file
you can add bands individually or collectively.
That being said, the vertical layout makes more
sense – although it does take a bit of getting Create a target
used to, as does the fact that the EQ doesn’t
handle the bass frequencies. In addition to the included presets, sections of the source audio can be
However, Mixroom’s true power lies in its Mixroom can create a target curve highlighted, and once you’ve done this
intelligent EQing capability and this has two from an audio file, allowing you to you simply hit the Create Targets tab
aspects. The first part is a target curve, sourced match your current audio to an existing below. Closing out the panel gets you
from more than 100 instrument and mastering track or mix. To access this feature you back into the main window and from
presets or by loading up a reference audio file click on the target icon next to the here you proceed just as if you’d loaded
(see boxout). The second part is the analysis of preset browser. This opens an a regular target preset. Should you
your audio, which takes a few seconds when you additional panel from which you can want to go back to the source audio or
start playback. This generates a green target EQ load and manage up to 20 source files. select a different source file simply
curve visible down the sides. You can then try to By setting the respective DAW track to reopen the window, and if you want to
match the EQ curve, which is grey, either input monitor, source files can be choose a different section from an
manually or intelligently by selecting the Add auditioned within the plugin and this existing source audio file, simply
Smart Bands option, which creates the required helps you choose which sections to use highlight that section and rerun the
bands with suitable frequency, bandwidth and to create the target EQ curve. Multiple Create Targets option.
gain settings.
So, does it work? We tried Mixroom on a
number of individual tracks, submixes and
mixes and for the most part the results were
very good. Understandably, you need to select a Similarly, for the more experienced engineers Alternatively
representative section of audio to analyse, and out there, the presets provide insight into the
this is particularly true if you’re processing a full overall tonality of different genres, and we iZotope Neutron 3
mix, as the frequency content may change particularly liked using the handful of Star 275 » 9/10 » from $129
considerably from section to section. In use the Engineer presets. Includes an excellent analysis and
analysed target is easy to reset if you need to try On individual instruments the results were EQ curve generation feature
a different section. So, as a mix tweaking more varied and although we had great results
processor it’s great, providing a quick way for a with piano, strings and individual drums sounds, Soundtheory Gullfoss
novice to get a handle on how their overall mix the overall drum kit settings were less 257 » 9/10 » £150
EQ stacks up. successful. Furthermore, on sounds that needed Audio analysis and simple controls
very heavy EQ, Mixroom didn’t always prove for wonderfully intelligent EQing
itself able to deliver enough boost to match the
target curve. On balance we felt that having a Verdict
bigger choice of instrument presets would
certainly help. For Both manual and intelligent EQ
curves with a fresh interface
Value Excellent choice of mastering presets
Overall, Mixroom provides a fresh approach to Analyse your own audio files
EQing that is both informative and can save you Mid-side processing
time. The interface makes sense conceptually Band specific solo
and after the initial learning curve it’s easy to
use. What’s more, the analysis and Against No frequencies below 320Hz
accompanying presets can be very educational. Needs more instrument presets
It’s important to note that the plugin isn’t really
suitable for surgical EQing and by design If you’re looking to streamline your mixing
doesn’t handle bass frequencies. That said, with and mastering tasks, Mixroom combines a
such an attractive price you could justify buying fresh interface with intelligent curve
Bassroom as well. generation and analysis of user audio files
The triangle on the output slider provides a target

output level to help compensate for the EQ applied Web masteringthemix.com 9/10

> reviews / mini reviews
mini reviews
A rapid-fire round-up of ROMplers, music gear and more…
Presonus
Atom Producer Lab
£175
Web presonus.com
Gear Hardware/software bundle
This bundle from Presonus looks, on the face of

it, to be aimed primarily at beat makers, but
actually contains just about everything you
need for music production, and is especially
geared towards those new to this most glorious
of pastimes.
Starting with Atom, this compact and sturdy,
16-pad grid controller has been around for a other software with Atom – it will easily trigger which is a good all-rounder and will do a decent
while, and has deep integration with Presonus’s Live’s clips, scenes and Drum Rack, for example job of capturing your vocals. OK, it’s no
own Studio One DAW; you get a cut down – its pairing with One is so deep that you can Neumann, but when you add it to the other
version of that (Artist) bundled with it. (Artist is even use it for playing melodies (it has a Push- hardware, it gives the Producer Pack another
one of the most filled ‘lite’ versions of a DAW that style keyboard option) as well as the more level of flexibility, making it a great bundle for
we have come across, giving you a very good obvious beat-making options. using both in the studio and on the road. But
flavour of the full Studio One, a DAW that really Next up we have the AudioBox USB 96 bus- that’s not the best bit. The bundled price for all
does deserve more praise and profile than it powered audio interface, which again impresses three is just £175, which is impressive given that
gets). We should also mention the other with build quality, and will easily handle your Atom alone sells for well into three figures on its
software thrown in at this point – Ableton Live basic audio (and MIDI) connectivity with a own. If you’re starting out, then, this will do
Lite and a library of samples – but really Atom’s couple of combo mic/instrument inputs. everything you need, and some, for very little
deeper integration understandably lies with And talking of mics, the last bundled piece is outlay. Just add monitors or headphones.
Presonus’s own DAW. And while you can control an M7 large-diaphragm condenser microphone, n8/10n
JBL AKG
104-BT £169 Lyra £139
Web soundtech.co.uk Web soundtech.co.uk
Gear Wireless monitors Gear USB microphone
The original JBL 104 monitors With everyone and their dogs –
are, to our ears, one of the literally in some cases – thinking they
best compact – and cheap – have something of value to podcast
studio monitoring solutions these days, we’re catching up on
you can buy; hidden gems some of the best mic solutions out
that you can pick up for a there. And this AKG certainly boasts
song and an ideal set of the specs and the famous AKG name,
secondary monitors for any which should bring quality to your
recording setup. The 104 BTs ‘casts and, we suspect, your music
then, should be even better, as recordings too.
they are simply the original First up this is a multi-mode
sans wires. Yes the BTs are – microphone so has four polar pattern
you guessed it – Bluetooth versions of the original 104s, so you options to catch Wide Stereo, Narrow
get the same lovely compact, oval design and largely the same Stereo, Front and Front/Back
impressive sound. This is pretty accurate and vibey given the recordings. Tight Stereo is best for instrument recordings while
size, and we’ve had the luxury of lining them up against many a Front will be best for vocal capture and Front/Back for the more
more expensive pair of studio monitors, only for them to intended podcast interview.
surprise us not just with that big sound, but one that is pretty It’s flexible then but, yes, that AKG name really does bring a
deep and accurate too. great tone, especially and perhaps obviously for the voice. There
There are negatives with the Bluetooth format, in that you’ll are cheaper mic options out there, for sure, and not a lot more
get some latency between hitting a note while recording and will get you the mic, interface and controller bundle above, but
then hearing it back through your speaker system. So for real- this mic is in another league and will stretch to many more
time recording, you’ll want the wired versions – and these still musical duties, as well as giving your podcasts a professional
come very highly recommended. If you simply need wireless sound. *Patronising comment alert*: just make sure you have
though, these are some of the best-sounding of that format. something worth talking about, OK?
n8/10n n8/10n
78 / COMPUTER MUSIC August 2020

soundware roundup / reviews <
Soundware round-up
W.A. Production Zenhiser
Blazed Dubstep £16 Rewind £33
W.A. Production’s hyperkinetic 148bpm pack is 50 synthtastic 80s-syle construction kits of eight and
bursting with stadium-ready half-time beats and one- 16 bars in length, deconstructed into 4GB of
shots, epic synth leads and modulated low-end component loops and culled one-shots. The drums
noises. It’s a shame there’s not more variety to the are provided in full, kick-less and hat-less versions,
basslines, and some of the drum sounds are over- which is good, but we’re not so convinced of the need
reused, but it’s all good stuff nonetheless. And the 83 for full-length versions of every synth part with and
presets for Xfer Records’ Serum synth (most of them without very, very long FX tails. Given that the former
in the bass category, and drawing on 11 new are just curtailed copies of the latter, that’s about 1GB
wavetables) make for a very tasty inclusion – indeed, of needless material, as far as we can tell. Still, loads
some might find them worth the price of admission of cool sounds at a very fair price.
on their own. zenhiser.com
waproduction.com n8/10n
n8/10n
UNDRGRND Sounds Sample Magic

Detroit Techno £35 Trap & Pop £30
With sample library prices generally falling, £35 is No prizes for guessing the theme of this one: fusing
now the ‘premium’ tier, and Detroit Techno more than trap attitude with pop gloss and melodiousness,
lives up to that billing, its 648 loops and 262 one- Sample Magic’s genre-blending library actually ends
shots representing great value for money. But this up finding its own stylistic ground. Clocked at
collection doesn’t just score high on quantity – the 140bpm but with a half-time feel, Trap & Pop’s beats,
savvy production can’t be faulted either, from the basslines, and melodic and vocal loops are full of
piercing 303 explorations, elemental basslines and intriguing ideas and expertly engineered; and there’s
funky synths, to the forward-thrusting drums, something of a future bass air to some of the 15
syncopated perc and brain-twisting FX. And while the ‘music’ mini construction kits that meshes well with
main theme is, as suggested, that classic Detroit the rest of the material. 33 Serum presets and plenty
sound, the contemporary applications are endless. of very exploitable one-shots bring it home.
undrgrndsounds.com samplemagic.com
n9/10n n9/10n
Sample Magic Dirty Rituals

Classic Jungle £15 Dirty House $45 or subscription
The purist might balk at using anything other than We’re always up for a bit of ghetto tech, and Dirty
the actual Amen, Think break, etc, in their junglist Rituals’ first outing on Noiiz is a fine soundware
production endeavours, but this pack of original resource that epitomises the genre at its sleazy best,
loops and hits succeeds in maintaining authenticity but brings its own flavour to the party, too. The 41
throughout, particularly in the sampling techniques, bass loops are a highlight, exuding all the cheeky
rhythm programming and characterful modulation quirkiness that defines the genre, and although the
used for the all-important drums and basses. And drums only come in at half that number, every one is
though the 41 melodic loops aren’t quite as directed a goer. A decent helping of keys and pads adds a
in their retro tack, the diversity and quality of their musical angle, and the de rigueur ‘booty call’ vocals
smooth shimmerings, tinklings and atmospherics are are present and correct.
impressive in their own right. Steppin’. noiiz.com
samplemagic.com n8/10n
n8/10n
Loopmasters Niche Audio

Industrial Dub £20 Kore £150
Industrial Dub immediately wins us over by citing the A 2.7GB library of 200 house-, tech house- and
hugely underrated Scorn as an influence, and despite techno-orientated Groups (kits) for NI’s Maschine,
being one of the smallest of this month’s soundware 100 of them reprised from Niche’s catalogue of the
offerings, it’s also one of the best. 25 half-time (140 last five years, the other 100 new and exclusive. Every
and 160bpm) drum loops start the engine, crackling Group includes a demonstrative MIDI pattern (in ‘full’,
with distortion and bags of reverb on the snare; 20 ‘break’ and ‘main’ or ‘drums’ variations), and makes
synth basslines reach down low; 18 music loops do full use of Maschine’s effects. With more than 5500
terrifying things with the dub staples – horns, samples involved, there’s an incredible amount of
melodica, organs and keys; and 12 cavernous material to be plundered here, even if you already
atmosphere loops thicken the air. Bold, beautiful but own some of the repeated kits; and standards are, as
all too brief. we expect from Niche, sky high.
loopmasters.com loopmasters.com
n9/10n n10/10n

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> free plugin / baby audio baby comeback cm
> Free plugin

BABY COMEBACK CM
We’ve got a cracking d-d-d-delay which has been d-d-d- DOWNLOAD
Get the plugin and the video
developed just for readers. That’s you (you, you)! tutorial on your PC/Mac at
filesilo.co.uk/computermusic
We have a cracking Computer Music free crafted to offer a wide variety of sonic options, For the main Flavour buttons, the first, Wide,
plugin this month, in the form of Baby and you’ll quickly use them to get some great- offers extra girth by way of the Wider algorithm
Audio’s Baby Comeback CM! sounding, warm and lush delays. from Comeback Kid, and leaves the signal clean.
It’s a cut-down version of the developer’s The main delay engine in Baby Comeback Analog gives you an idea of what Comeback
Comeback Kid delay plugin, and includes the CM has three BPM-synced modes called Kid’s Filters, Tape, Swirl and Destiny functions
same delay engine and some of the different Straight, Dotted and Triplet which are pretty self can do by adding a warm and dark sound.
flavouring algorithms that can be found on explanatory and offer different timed delays, Similarly, Saucey uses Kid’s Filters, Transient
its big brother. while the main Time dial allows you to select Designers, Richer and Sauce algorithms for a
While it might lack some of the sculpting intervals down to 1/64th note. lush delay, while Cheap explores Kid’s Filters
tools found on Comeback Kid, some of these A Free mode can also be used to select and Destiny parameters for a vibey lo-fi delay.
effects are built into four ‘style’ presets called delays between 0.01 and 2500ms (and specific If these four flavours tempt you to go for the
Wide, Saucey, Analog and Cheap (which sound times can be input directly by double-clicking extra flexibility of Comeback Kid, head to
anything but!). These have been specially on the screen). babyaud.io to pick it up for just $49.
DUCKER
SCREEN FREE MODE
Lowers delays when the
Double-click here to set Select a delay time between
dry signal plays for a
values of the delay time 0.01ms and 2500ms
modern ducking sound
in Free Mode
THE WET/DRY
‘FLAVORS’ MIX
Four presets Set Wet and
give you a Dry levels to
great flavour mark how
of the wide much effect
sound the delay has
Comeback on the input
can deliver signal
TIME DIAL FEEDBACK

BPM-SYNCED MODES
Allows you to set the Delay Time Adjusts how much the delayed
Three modes – Straight,
intervals from 1/1 to 1/64th values signal is fed back, for some ultra-
Dotted,Triplet – are tempo
big sounds and results
sync’d with a Ping Pong option

baby audio baby comeback cm / free plugin <
> Step by step 1. Getting up and running with Baby Audio’s Baby Comeback CM
1 2 3
You’ll find the installers for Baby Double-clicking on it should install it Ours installed perfectly on a Mac and
Audio’s Baby Comeback CM on this without any issues into the correct within seconds we had it up and
month’s DVD, or at the following address: location (ie your plugins folder). As ever, running in the shiny, all-new version of
https://babyaud.io/baby-comeback-cm there’s a caveat that it might not, but you’ll Logic 10.5! (Download the latest version
(where the latest Logic 10.5 update can be soon find out when your DAW either does, from babyaud.io for a more stable Logic
found). It runs as a normal plugin in most or doesn’t pick it up. If not, do a search for 10.5 experience.) Load yourself up a
DAWs, so drag either version onto your the plugin and put it in the correct folder. simple sound, like a bass note or piano,
computer and unpack it. strap yourself in as we’re going to take a
tour of Baby Comeback CM.
4 5 6
We’ve switched over to Live to delve Now set the time to 1/16 as shown, and Now we’ve selected Free Mode where
deeper with Baby Comeback CM. First take the Feedback down to the level you can input any value as a delay
play your simple sound through the plugin shown. This will allow you to hear the raw time. Double-click on the main screen, as
on the straight setting. As you adjust the delays better. Select between the Straight, we have done here, to an input and value
Time dial from 1/64 to 1/1, the delays Dotted and Triplet options. On 1/16 you you like. You can input any value between
become more noticeable and obvious, can clearly hear how the rhythm of the 0.01 and 2500ms.
going from an almost slapback delay to a delay is affected by changing the mode.
defined echo effect.
POWER TIP
> New to delays?

If you are new to using delays then
Baby Comeback CM is an ideal
plugin to get you going and to then
take you on some fantastically
varied journeys, once you get the
swing of how it works. We’ve kept
this tutorial reasonably low tech in
case you are new to using delays,
but if that is the case, then the best
advice is to keep things simple so
you can hear what is going on. Keep
the Feedback control at a minimum,
the Time dial at half, and the Ducker
dial down low. As soon as you have
7 8
Now revert back to one of the BPM- Now we’re going to quickly show the the basics nailed, bring some of
synced modes of Straight, Triplet or Feedback dial-in operation. This these back in so you can see exactly
Dotted. The Time value should be as was. controls the amount of delayed signal fed where this Baby will take you.
Now hit the Ping Pong option to hear the back to the signal path, and at maximum
delay bounce around more in the stereo will quickly overpower the sound – or at
field. Nice eh? least it will stay delaying long after you
press stop! In order to stop what might
sound like an eternal delay, simply reduce
the Feedback back to zero.

> free plugin / baby audio baby comeback cm
> Step by step 2. Next steps with Baby Audio’s Baby Comeback CM
1 2 3
Now let’s try some of the fantastic Now we’ll try the next Flavor out, The third Flavor option is Saucey,
extras on Baby Comeback CM to hear which is Analog. This features some of which takes its cues from Kid’s
just how varied this plugin can be. Set the Filters and Tape sound you get on Transient Shaper, Richer and Sauce
your Time to 1/16 (if you haven’t already), Baby’s bigger brother, to give you a warm algorithms. The resulting delay can sound
the Feedback to zero and now press the and punchy sound which is slightly lush but on our bass sound at the setting
Wide button in the Flavor section. The overdriven. Proper analogue (with a ‘ue’ shown, was more like a great quality plate
delay is dry but spread in the stereo field. added for us Brits). reverb. We’re already getting very varied
sounds. How’s about going cheap?
POWER TIP
> Preset action

As we reveal in the last step, you can
easily save presets (In Ableton click
on the file icon, and in DAWs like
Logic you will get Save options). Any
great sound you come up with can
be saved and loaded back; they are
usually saved in the Baby Audio
folder in your plugins folder. If you
come up with any great sounds, by
all means send them in and we’ll put
them in our Suite plugins folders
for everyone to share. (Email any
4 5
Yes the last Flavor is called Cheap. Over to the right, the Ducker dial is you come up with to
Again, switch everything back so you interesting. This is supposed to give computermusic@futurenet.com.)
can hear the input signal almost dry, and you a modern ducking effect by lowering
then switch it in. It imparts a kind of low the delays when the dry signal is played.
bit-rate noise on the signal which gives it We found it best used with these kinds of
not so much a grainy effect as a layer of settings for an extreme effect at the end of
very usable distortion. the delay!
6 7 8
Ducker actually works best when you Push the Dry Out dial down and the And if you want to push it even further,
start exploring the mix of wet and dry Wet Out dial up and now start try upping the Feedback dial for some
levels. These can be adjusted using the experimenting with the Ducker dial. This is really extreme effects. We think you can
Dry Out and Wet Out controls which take where the sound of Baby Comeback can now see that Baby Comeback can deliver
the place of a single wet/dry mix dial you start getting completely out there. everything from normal delays to extreme
might normally get, although offer a lot of sounds. Best of all you can save any great
tweaking flexibility over your sound. sound you come up with as shown.

baby audio baby comeback cm / free plugin <
Q&A with Baby Audio developer Caspar Bock

plugins are meant to fit naturally into that most of what I had as I never really used it. I
workflow. They’re not just utility tools – but have some synths and drum machines left, but
opinionated sonic ingredients, meant to inspire they rarely get booted up.…”
creative decisions.”
What would you most like to see
Tell us about your plugins? developed in terms of the software and
BA “Super VHS brings you the lo-fi sound of studio technology out there?
the 1980s with six effects in one channel strip. BA “There’s one specific thing that I think is
Comeback Kid is an analogue-sounding delay missing, which we’re working on ourselves —
with some flexible sound-sculpting tools. more on that soon! Other than that, I think AI
I Heart NY is a parallel compressor; a quick way assisted tools are interesting. I don’t think
to beef up your drums and beyond. We design they’re quite at the level yet where they’re as
Baby Audio our effects to be a little bit like ‘instruments’. We
want to make tools you can add early on in a
helpful as they’re often marketed to be — but
once they get there, that’ll be a game changer.”
Caspar Bock production, to become inspired and take your
track to a new place.” What advice do you have from working
in the industry?
How did you first get into plugins?
BA “I’ve been making music since my teenage
“They’re not just utility BA “Do the things that you need to get done as
soon as they come up. Don’t push it until
years and I soon began obsessing over gear and
software. After failing to cut it as a music
tools but opinionated tomorrow. Also, don’t ever expect a product to
be fully completed. It’s always just a constant
producer, I got into advertising and worked
almost ten years for agencies in Copenhagen,
sonic ingredients” work in progress.”
Berlin, LA and New York. When I finally founded What’s next for Baby Audio?
Baby Audio, it was like a perfect marriage What are your five favourite plugins BA “We’re working on a major overhaul of our
between my obsession with music production made by other companies? first plugin, I Heart NY. It’s been a fun project as
and my professional background. BA “Great question! Korg Gadget: this is more we’ve learned so much since that release — so
“I was extremely lucky to randomly connect of a DAW environment, but I love the simplicity to come back and pack all that knowledge and
with some of the most talented people and and instant fun of it. iZotope Neutron: a forward- clarity into a new plugin feels very ‘healthy’ in a
establish a small team to create our first plugin, thinking channel strip that’s not stuck in the way. We’re taking our weakest product and
I Heart NY. That was in 2019. The plugin got a lot past. Melodyne: what that thing does is making it our strongest. And after that, we’ll do
of press and word-of-mouth, and our next one, practically magic. Native Instruments Kontakt: the same with another product.”
Super VHS, even more. It’s gone really fast and this product almost created a new industry in its
we’re very humbled by the response. It makes own right. Dada Life Endless Smile: a really Finally, what is the future of music
us want to do better with every new release!” simple but innovative idea, nicely executed.” production in 100 words or less?
BA “Let’s start with the past: a songwriter
What is your philosophy or approach What do you get asked most about wrote a song, a producer recorded it, a mixer
when it comes to software development? music production? mixed it etc. Music production nowadays – and
BA “How much space do you have?! Our BA “I think the most common discussion is in the future – is turning into a creative melting
founding principle as a company was to simplify about software versus hardware and what’s pot where all these disciplines come together
workflow and make mix tools in the same spirit better. I’ve actually been on both sides and at into one workflow, mastered by the same
you’d make an instrument: as something that one point I swore 100% by hardware. My reply/ individual. Writing, producing, mixing is all part
inspires instant creativity and experimentation. opinion nowadays is that they’re both superior of the same process. And it’s becoming more
And where you don’t need to read a manual to in their own right. Kind of a boring answer, I about self-expression than about following ‘best
get started. know. But it’s the truth!!” practices’. I think music production will get even
“Gear used to be made for trained engineers, more creative as the barriers of entry get lower
which made sense back in the days of real We guess you could answer it better by and the tools get smarter. And I’m very excited
studios. But the reality now is that most users revealing what’s in your own studio… about it!.”
are not engineers but creatives. They write, BA “Software-wise I’m well stocked up, which is
produce and mix all at the same time. Our a part of my job. In terms of hardware, I’ve sold babyaud.io
Endeared to the winsome charms of our cutdown version? Head right over to babyaud.io to sign up for Comeback Kid, its beefier brother

> free samples / bass samples
All-new bass samples

Go low with our two collections of all-new bass samples to celebrate our bass-
creating features. Get them on the DVD or at filesilo.co.uk…
DIRTY
MODULATING
BASS
Dirty Modulating Bass Bass Synth, FX and Loops

We’re celebrating the low end this issue, with sub and synth bass Our next set of bass sounds was produced by Groove Criminals. Oli from
tutorials, but if you don’t want to make your own, here are two bass Groove says of its creation: “It’s all about that bass this month and so we
sample collections. Robbie from Cyclick Samples says of his set: decided to go old school and rinse the low end on a selection of the
hardware synths that we have knocking about.
Bass Guitars: “These were subjected to “We clocked the Roland SH-101’s, erm, ‘unique’ built-in sequencer using
heavy distortion for some nasty and nice the sync out of an Arturia DrumBrute. We also used that same technique
loops. Two of them were recorded to clock a Korg SQ-1 that was driving a small Erica Synths semi modular
through a chain of pedals that were then synth voice.
tweaked and switched.” “The analogue bass loops are a mixture of synths, including the old
school (and underrated) Novation Super Bass Station and Yamaha CS5,
Filter Modulation Bass Loops: “This among others. We tried to leave them dry but couldn’t resist a touch of
contains nine tempo sub-folders. Filters analogue delay here and there.
used were the UAD Moog Multimode XL, “The FM basses are also a mixture of a TX81z module and a Volca FM
Cableguys FilterShaper3, Soundtoys being fed original DX patches via MIDI and Dexed.
FilterFreak and Arturia MiniFilter.” “The Moog samples came courtesy of our Mother 32 and we threw in a
set of loops from the Korg Monologue – a great little synth which we
Fuzz ‘n’ Dirty Bass Loops: “Ready to go, suspect may go on to become a little bit of a cult classic as we head into
SELECTED GEAR
but could take a good dose of filtering, the future.”
modulation and more distortion.” Epiphone Ripper and
Musicman Stingray bass
GEAR USED
WEM, EHX, Moog, Dr No,
Misc Noises: “These would suit further Arturia DrumBrute
Musitronics, Haz Labs, Boss,
processing, especially time-stretching, Sandpit, Behringer, Proco, Erica Synths module
with or without pitch shifting. Vox and Korg pedals Korg SQ-1
Focusrite ISA828 preamps Korg Monologue
Trem ‘n’ Pumped Bass Loops: “Bass
Little Labs Redeye Korg Volca FM
sounds modulated with a range of DI/Reamper
tremolo effects like Soundtoys Moog Mother 32
Soundtoys, Cableguys,
Tremolator and Cableguys ShaperBox.” Novation Super Bass Station
Eventide, UAD plugins
Roland SH-101
Arturia MiniFilter plugin
For more, see the PDF in the folder at Yamaha TX81z
Steinberg Nuendo 8.3
filesilo.co.uk (see p81) or on the DVD. Yamaha CS5

vault / free samples <
FROM THE VAULT
Cinematic Soundscape
We haven’t been able to go to the cinema of late, so here’s a set of classic
samples from the Vault to get you back in the mood…
Missing a good old trip to the flicks? soundscape. As a real, if slightly K2600 (Colonel Kurz as it’s called
We’ve raided the Vault for some battered, Rhodes Mark One has here), which has a synthesis
classic cinematic samples that first been used throughout, there are architecture that can take a lifetime
appeared on our DVD way back in some full multisamples provided as to master (I hired a time machine to
2013, but have really stood the test you just can’t have enough of this get to grips with the Colonel) and
of time. beautiful instrument. never ceases to form the basis of
“The 80bpm kit has a full and many juicy sounds.”
Here’s what Robbie from Cyclick fruity velocity-layered multisample “All the samples have their kit
said on their production: “Using
Bladerunner Blues by Vangelis
of clean Rhodes, while the other
appearances are effected (verbed,
number, instrument, version,
tempo and key/pitch in the
CINEMATIC
from the Bladerunner soundtrack
as a sonic template, here are four
step-filtered, phased, etc.), and
they’re all quite editable.
filename, and they are all
24bit/44.1Khz wavs.
SOUNDSCAPE
tempo-based kits of lines, loops, “Most of the bass instruments/ “Most of the lines are loopable,
bassline, beats and multisampled lines are courtesy of the ever but some have a bar or two left on
instruments to take you far, but not flexible Jen SX1000 monosynth the end to allow for delay and
too far, into the future. that, with some extra effects, has a reverb tails.”
“Mellow and spacious sounds quality far beyond its appearance. The samples can be found in the INCLUDES…
are the dish of the day, with the “The other string and lead Free Samples folder on the DVD or
194 Bass samples
Rhodes piano dominating the sounds come from the Kurzweil at filesilo.co.uk under issue 284.
47 Electric piano
28 String machine
77 Drum samples
276 Rhodes
105 Synth
60 Guitar
GEAR USED
Rhodes Mark I 88 stage piano
Jen Synthetone
SX-1000 monosynth
Kurzweil K2600
Trident Signature 2 mic pre/ EQ
RME HDSP Multiface
Yamaha MSP-5As
Steinberg Nuendo
Adobe Audition
NI Kontakt

> free samples / loopmasters
Loopmasters 284 samples

01 RV Dynamic Techno 05 Frontline Stoner & Garage Rock
02 Loopmasters Techno Oscillations 06 Loopmasters Bushwacka! Tech Breaks
03 Frontline Mark Fletcher - Fill You In 07 RV Industrial Bass Music
04 Loopmasters Phil Weeks - OG House 08 Loopmasters Junglist Workout 2

big edm titan trap / free sample offer <
Get WA Production’s
Big EDM Titan Trap
for free!
How to get your free
Pro Sample Pack
worth $19.90!
We have a special giveaway this month with an

amazing set of pro samples from WA Production
worth nearly $20. Here’s how to claim it…
Titan Trap is a great collection of kits, hits, loops and
shots aimed at anyone interested in trap and
contemporary EDM in its various forms. As WA
Production say… How to download
“Trap is a crazy genre, bringing a new light to the EDM
scene. We know trap has been around for a long time, but your free sample pack
genres like hybrid trap or psychedelic trap are new to the
EDM world. The Big EDM Titan Trap collection
“We want to bring you a normally costs $19.90 but as a Computer
pack that is full of innovative
and heart-racing samples, Music reader you can download it for free!
loops and construction kits. 1 Head over to WA production.com and search for
“Big EDM’s Titan Trap is a
Titan Trap or go direct to
PACK DETAILS mind-blowing and inspiring
waproduction.com/sounds/view/titan-trap
trap sample pack that will be
5 Construction Kits an essential title in your 2 Click on Buy (the first of the four black-tab options)
30 Bass Shots sample collection. The EDM
20 Claps sound is constantly changing 3 Click on the Shopping Cart icon at the top of the
10 Drum Loops and we know producers want page. Remove any free collections that might appear.
10 FX to follow the trends while
4 Enter WACM9531 as the discount code and hit the
20 Hats staying unique. These samples
Add Discount icon. Checkout and enter your email.
20 Kicks are amazing for both beginner
bedroom producers and 5 Complete Checkout and find the collection under
10 Melody Loops + MIDI
professional producers.” “My Orders” on your profile page. Download it here
10 Snares
In order to claim this or wait for an email and click the download link.
10 Synth Shots amazing set of samples, for
15 Serum presets free, simply follow the steps to
Unzipped size: 1GB the right. Enjoy!

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eeware videos on classic … compressors, EQs, reverbs
eeware synths… and delays
video
PRODUCER
MASTERCLASS
Find out how C.A.R., aka Chloé Raunet,
remixed two incredibly different tracks
Read the full article on p44
SYNTH BASS SUB BASS

PERCUSSIVE LAYERING
FM BASS MASSIVE BASS
/ace bass
We’ve gone low-end with our
main tutorials and have two
Read the full Read the full
bass sub and synth videos article on p24 article on p37

> interview / RAC
15 questions with…
RAC
Photo: Julie Davies

RAC / interview <
Portugal-born, US-raised André Allen Anjos is a

Grammy-winning producer and songwriter, with no
fewer than 250 remixes to his name, from Kings Of
Leon to Lady Gaga, plus TV/film credits. He’s just
released his LP, Boy, through Counter/Ninja Tune
That’s quite a CV you have there… Ableton for more than ten years, since version the reverb tank emulation, not so much for the
1 RAC: “I’ve been working professionally 6, I believe. Computer music-making is the only delay. The delay is amazing but I use it more for
since 2007 and originally got my start doing way to make music as far as I’m concerned, and the spring.”
remixes, but I’ve done everything including film that’s coming from somebody who has way too 2. “The UAD EP-34 Tape Delay is amazing, super
and TV, and I did a ballet recently as well. I think much hardware! I find it to be super important long tape delays which I love. I’ve used it on
I’ve done over 250 remixes at this point. In 2017, and super liberating.” every track.”
I won a Grammy Award for Best Remix and I’ve 3. “The Lexicon 224 emulation, also by Universal
also released original work, which has taken You’ve come to the right magazine – so Audio. There’s this one setting that I use for
over my life for the past five or six years. I’ve put 4 how has it changed the way you work? everything, I think it’s called Vocal Play, and I
out records on Interscope and Ninja Tune. Music RAC: “It’s kind of been the only way I’ve ever just set the mids to 50-second decay. You can
is an emotional outlet for me.” worked, so it’s been super important. I did start send anything to it and it opens up like it’s this
in the box, I was doing a lot of VSTs and stuff, I’m massive stereo thing – an amazing plugin.”
Do you have an overall musical or talking early 2001/2002, with early virtual 4. “Goodhertz Vulf compressor and Wow
2 production philosophy? instruments and samplers and things like that. Control. I think they’re in the same worlds, so I’ll
RAC: “Generally speaking, I think the key to Maybe around 2005/2006, that’s when I got lump those together. Goodhertz in general,
longevity in this industry is being yourself and more into analogue synths and vintage synths make amazing stuff. It’s just the right amount of
doing your own thing and being unique. If you in general. I bought my first Juno-60 for just vibe that I’m looking for, and it makes things
can do that and find an audience, then nobody $400 which is insane now. I also happened to sound worse but intentionally. Arguably better,
can touch you. It doesn’t matter what’s get it with the MIDI adapter, so I never had to really, but the fidelity goes down intentionally –
happening in the rest of the world or the rest of play anything, I just had to program it – it was it’s meant to make it sound retro.”
the music ecosystem, if you find that core awesome. I think I’ve used that synth on pretty 5. “Retro Color by XLN, which I’ve used on
audience, they will love what you do forever, much every track in my entire career.” literally everything. I use the tube distortion
and you’re just being yourself too. I find that to emulation: I love adding that on vocals and
be super important and that’s my ethos and Tell us a little about the rest of the gear distorting everything. It’s pretty prevalent on
barometer, however you want to put it, that’s 5 in your studio my new album BOY.”
how I judge everything I do. Does this make me RAC: “It’s a bit of a beast – I have a lot of
personally happy? Is this interesting to me? Is equipment. I have a whole Apollo System, so 2 How does a track typically start?
this true to who I am? And usually, everything Apollo 16s, Apollo X8 and then a whole bunch of 7 RAC: “It’s kind of all over the place. I have
else falls into place.” different preamps, anything from API, DVX, my studio completely wired up, everything is
Neve 1073s, to the TG2s from Chandler. I like to always plugged in, already set, already hooked
When and how did you discover collect preamps and vintage stuff. I have a up to a preamp. I never have to do anything; all I
3 computer music production? Rhodes 54, a Wurlitzer, a Yamaha CP-70, and a have to do is turn it on and it should work.
RAC: “This was all pre-Youtube, pre-internet. I whole collection of guitar amps/amp heads, like Sometimes stuff happens, but for the most part,
was always comfortable with computers, and a Fender Deluxe reverb, Roland JC-120, Vox everything is ready to go so I’m free to jump
I’ve been tinkering with PCs and breaking them AC15, Fender Princeton. For drum machines, I around the studio and play whatever and then
since I was 10 or 11 years old. Naturally, music- have the Roland TR-808, Arturia DrumBrute whatever inspires, whatever gets the idea
making and computer music-making came and then a whole modular rig full of drum stuff going, that’s what I’ll use and I’ll start the song
hand in hand. I grew up in Portugal and they as well, plus a whole bunch of other toys. I have there. I’m using a linear writing method,
had this knock-off cereal that my parents got, a bunch of FM synths, and I also have a whole basically, so I’ll loop a section right apart and
and these cereal boxes would come with CDs. bunch of the new Roland boxes which I really move on to the next area and start to build a
One happened to come with a recording like, especially the Jupiter 8. I’d rather have a structure and then from there start adding
program which I think was called Hip Hop EJay little box than the giant $10,000 beasts, you detail if that makes sense.”
or something like that. It was a piece of software know? It’s a little more affordable and the trade-
I was playing around with; you could create offs in sound aren’t that big. The original Jupiter Do you have any particular production
loops, and it was limited to 120bpm. It would is amazing but I can get it close enough with 8 tricks that you employ?
give you four beats or four clicks and it wouldn’t this thing.” RAC: “I sidechain everything, I use grouptracks
play the clicks so you had to internalise the and I use a template. It’s a very dialled-in
rhythm of it and so it forced me to create these What are your favourite five plugins? template that I’ve been building for six or seven
really short loops and really develop a sense of 6 RAC: “1. The UAD Galaxy Tape Space Echo years and I think it’s the basis of my sound.
rhythm early on. It was helpful. Later on, I emulator. I love the Space Echo so having that in Again, it’s in the spirit of keeping things super
moved onto Cubase, and now I’ve been using plugin form is amazing. I actually use it more for quick, as everything’s always plugged in,

> interview / RAC
everything’s always routed. I already have a

channel ready for it in Ableton so as soon as I “The whole quarantine everybody’s files. Like getting Paul Epworth’s
kick drum from Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm album,
open up Ableton, I already have a session ready stuff like that, or getting some of the original
to go. I don’t have to create a new track, it’s
already there, already ready to record. All I have
thing has brought up Bob Marley stuff or U2 or New Order. I have had
access to some amazing studio sessions and I
to do is record and it’s there, it’s done. With that
said, I have things grouped by type. Obviously,
the lack of real-time feel like that has been such a great learning
experience for me.”
synths are going to be in the same group, but
then I’ll have sub-groups within those, so I’ll collaboration options” 13
What about advice from working in the
have synths that are maybe more padd-y or music industry that you can pass on?
long notes that require more side tuning. I’ll RAC: “This isn’t really advice coming from the
have a separate group for that. Or sometimes RAC: “The whole quarantine thing has brought industry, but I’d say don’t listen to the music
when I’m using more plucky synths, I’ll have a up the lack of real-time collaboration options. industry! Ignore them. Generally speaking, be
group for that. And that’s already pre-mixed in a You can’t even live stream with anybody cautious about taking advice from industry
way, I already have my compression settings, all without latency. Nobody’s really solved that yet. people because they’re focused on the short
the ridiculous amounts of plugins on everything That’s a tricky issue, I don’t claim to even know. I term and you should really be focused on long
all ready to go, with a lot of tape emulation and I don’t mean to say it’s an easy problem solve – term. There are obviously people who definitely
just process everything. That’s not to mention just something I’ve noticed. You can share look at the long term, but generally speaking
the processing coming on the way in, so often session files but you can’t actually play in real most people are very near-sighted. ”
I’ll add some compression, especially if I’m time together. But this is the golden age for
recording through the 1073, I’ll definitely use the analogue synthesis. For subtractive synthesis, Tell us about your latest release and
EQ to boost some of the highs. I have Shadow it’s amazing. Even in the plugin world, there are 14 why people should get it...
Hills Dual Vandergraph that I use for drums on almost too many options. ” RAC: “The new album BOY came out last month
the way in. That thing is just a beautiful drum and I’m super proud of it. I should say this about
compressor. So I’d say it’s just workflow stuff – You’ve been collaborating with a lot of every album of mine but I think this album is my
make it as fast as possible. I don’t want to be 11 people for the album… best work so far. I’m really excited about it. It
dealing with MIDI routing when I have an idea.” RAC: “There’s a lot – pretty much everything on feels like a bit of a departure – or maybe I mean
BOY is a collaboration, and that’s true for all of a natural progression. It’s about my childhood
What’s on your wishlist studio wise? my albums. This album is unique in that sense and I’ve worked with a lot of amazing artists, a
9 RAC: “I’ve always been on the lookout for because a lot of the artists, except for one or lot of new people, and I’m really excited to get it
an ARP 2600, but then again I don’t really need two, are younger than me, so it was interesting out in the world. ”
synths, I have so many. In fact I have too many working with younger energy. [Younger] people
synths, which is blasphemy I know! The other are more willing to take risks and try different Finally, what else have you got planned
one I have is the Korg MS10. I love that thing, I things and they aren’t afraid of failing, because 15 for the near future?
use it in everything. There’s always stuff I want, they’re not so established that they only ever do RAC: “We’re still waiting to see if the tour for the
I’ll go with the ARP 2600 as it’s sort of a classic, one thing.” album will happen. I’m probably going to
very unique synth. I’d also really love to check release an EP or something later this year,
out Deckard’s Dream. It looks amazing.” What advice have you picked up from maybe early next year, I have a lot of material so
12 working in the studio? I’m exploring that option.”
What would you like to see developed in RAC: “That’s a good question. I guess one of the
10 terms of studio technology and why? benefits of doing remixes is that I get access to BOY is out now on Counter Records

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> letters / backchat
Welcome to our newly (re)instated Letters page (okay, Emails page) to which you
have been writing in your droves. Here are some of the best, and if you have
something to say, good or bad (but good helps) email andy.jones@futurenet.com
Lots of ideas… they’ll be back in bigger force

Dear very soon indeed. Unfortunately
Great idea to bring back readers’ the toilet roll offer was only open
messages! I always enjoyed reading to residents of my village. (He
them even though I felt my says after weighing up postage
interests were often a bit different costs to Sydney…)
from most, ie to combine music
technology with classical/ Making Trax
contemporary/art music. Dear
One topic I’d love to learn more I’m currently reading the Make a
about is how exactly some Track In An Hour issue and
composers (professional or Freeware issues and wanted to use
Thenatan
amateur) combine electronics – Trax – Thenatan Trax CM for making a trap
already pre-recorded would be my briefly track. However, I can’t find Trax CM
preference, but live too, maybe – AWOL from in the Plugin Suite? Neither via
with traditional orchestral FileSilo but Filesilo or on (older) DVD’s.
instruments, in their work. What now back Could you tell me how I can locate
software they use, etc. this plugin?
It would also be great to have a extracted/nicked enough ideas You can’t say fairer than that. I can Gilles, via email
beginners’ series on how some from their replies. see, with a bit more reflection, that
people use/incorporate sounds/ 3) Totally appropriate as there are it must be more difficult to get Thanks for letting us know Gilles.
patches/effects made with music some excellent such apps software independent articles That one slipped out of the
programming languages like appearing all the time. written. I imagine everybody and Plugin Suite for some reason
PureData, Max/MSP, Supercollider, 4) Consider that a callout! their second cousins is more than (possibly because it’s a big
Chuck and so on in their music. 5) I’ll ask Radar! willing to bang on about the merits download) but it has been
Also, the descendants of Koan of their favourite bit of software. reinstated and also available for
(the generative music software) A little more Thanks for replying and keep up the those issues on FileSilo. Talking of
could even be discussed. But I conversation good work. which, it’s our all-new…
realise you may feel that this kind of Dear
thing may not be appropriate for Just got the latest , and I’m pretty Very good point. I had dabbled Most oft-asked
the readership for which this disappointed! What’s happened to with the idea of getting a page or question of
magazine is mainly intended. Experts; always one of my two in for each DAW but as it the month
It would also be lovely to see favourite sections in . Two parts transpires, that would take up the Dear
more from rachMiel after all these for Apple users only – I wouldn’t entire magazine. I have recently subscribed to the
years... He was a font of knowledge touch an Apple with a barge pole magazine digitally. How do you
and original ideas and wrote personally, even if I was wearing a And as if we haven’t access the sample downloads with
regularly for ! I wonder where he black polo-neck, but each to their just answered this… a digital subscription?
is now? Finally, it would also be own – and the other piece on a Dear I’m using a PC and there are no links
great if Musicradar.com got its £500 quid bit of software. That’s And hi Andy. I always loved your in the issue through the reader from
forum back again! Anyway, great really useful to us all. I hope this isn’t humour and brilliant, effortless Pocketmags.
mag and what with all the goodies the shape of things to come. Yours, writing. [Right, this is going in no Thanks for any help.
it always offers, it’s a bargain! now going back to past issues… problem – Ed] Glad you are now at Todd Gordon (and others)
Neil (only a dabbler in the vast Leigh Mellor the helm at .
world of music technology) However, [Oh – Ed] can you Yes, we do get this asked a lot, so
OK, yes, we rested Dave and Scot please make /experts DAW will be making it more obvious.
Some excellent points there for a couple of issues thinking agnostic? I always skip the ones All digital issues can access all the
which I will lazily answer with we’d get away with it with my that don’t apply to me in *AN–Other download content – samples,
some brief replies. ugly mug instead plus a couple of magazine*, then feel I haven’t got software, videos and more – from
1) We’re hoping to explore some DAW-specific features, but fear my money’s worth. filesilo.co.uk. You’ll need to set an
of the ‘real mixed with electronic’ not Leigh (and others), they are PS Do I win a toilet roll? account up and then answer a
world with a series of soundtrack very much coming back with two Mat Ward, Sydney question related to the issue you
composer interviews we have additions in two issue’s time. And matward.bandcamp.com are trying to access (it’s easy,
lined up, starting soon. with the wonders of technology, don’t worry). There’s between 12
2) And a beginners’ series to that Leigh gets back to us with the OK, OK. Expert Guides will be and 15GB a month, so register, log
will follow just as soon as we’ve following reply… agnostic from now on, and yes, on and fill your boots/drive.

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FREE 12GB TITAN TRAP

LOGIC PRO X 10.5 | REVIEW | HANDS ON GUIDE | OPINION

Logic Goes Live

C.A.R. BASS MASTER SLEAFORD MODS

Tutorials featuring this icon make

[ FROM THE VAULT ]

but the shed’s full of pasta.

LOGIC GOES LIVE REMIX TRAIL

NEW RELEASES • COMMENT • INDUSTRY HAPPENINGS

6 / COMPUTER MUSIC / August 2020

Muramasa Morphverb “magical tool providing a unique way to find

August 2020 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 7

Get with the Spitfire Audio BBC

programmers of beauty but, at £899, not one that many

8 / COMPUTER MUSIC / August 2020

BUTTERFLY AWAY FESTIVAL WASHOUT

BETTER THE DAW YOU KNOW FLORIAN SCHNEIDER RIP

10 / COMPUTER MUSIC / August 2020

contributors like Soft Cell, Depeche Mode

12 / COMPUTER MUSIC / August 2020

first album.” Ableton Live.” SUBSCRIPTIONS

“As a limited-ability musician, it’s enabled technology and why? LICENSING

LOGIC GOES LIVE

16 / COMPUTER MUSIC / August 2020

ask them about some of the key questions, but

Let’s get the elephant in the

August 2020 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 17

LOGIC 10.5’s MAIN UPDATES

NEW CELL CONTENTS SIDE-BY-SIDE

18 / COMPUTER MUSIC / August 2020

REAL TIME CONTROL

August 2020 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 19

> Step by step 1. Best use of the Step Sequencer

20 / COMPUTER MUSIC / August 2020

> Step by step 2. An introduction to Sampler

>Use the presets

August 2020 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 21

24 Synth bass 37 Sub bass

August 2020 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 23

24 / COMPUTER MUSIC / August 2020

> Step by step 1. Basic bass synthesis

1 the CM Plugins folder at filesilo.co.uk) onto an instrument track.

3 gives us a simple synthesis of a picked electric bass sound. We can

5 waveform to a square shape – do this by clicking the Square icon in

August 2020 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 25

> Step by step 2. Percussive synth bass with FM8

1 frequency modulation (FM) synthesis. Native Instruments’ FM8 is

3 F. Turning it right up to 100 gives us something like a sawtooth

5 adjusting Operator E’s pitch. To do this, turn your attention to the

26 / COMPUTER MUSIC / August 2020

August 2020 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 27

28 / COMPUTER MUSIC / August 2020

August 2020 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 29

August 2020 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 31

Designing bass sounds

11 SOUND DESIGN TIME

32 / COMPUTER MUSIC / August 2020

21 HEAR THE HARMONIES

August 2020 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 33

Arranging and mixing bass

25 SORT OUT YOUR 27 THE CLASH 29 FILL IT UP…

34 / COMPUTER MUSIC / August 2020

33 SAME BUT DIFFERENT

> Step by step 1. Synthesising a basic sub

> Step by step 2. Using pitch modulation to add punch

> Step by step 4. Making a sub bass with filtering in Kontakt