September 2009

Editorial

Another magazine, another set of tools, anotherbunch of reviews, new sounds, new tutorialsand now I need to get myself a new computerto hold it all -- or at least a new hard drive! But,I'm happy! It's been a great year so far and theWusik Sound Magazine is still growing -- maybenot in actual number of pages, but in quality!

This month's interview is better than everbefore. Squibs has pulled-off a miracle, and thecelebrity guest is...? Plus, there's some juicytutorials and not to mention great productreviews, as usual.

Let the Gear Lust take control! We will not feelsorry for that, today. Maybe just abit...tomorrow.

But seriously now, an actual Wusik MachineHardware Device? Is that for real? Don't forgetto check this month's Synth Romance, for anice story -- another crazy idea by me(WilliamK).

Thanks for visiting us again. We hope to seeyou again for the next issue. Oh, hey! So,anyway, feel free to drop us some commentsand suggestions. Without your feedback, wecannot live!

Are you still reading this? Go now, read the restof the magazine!!

Sincerely Yours,

WilliamK

Wusik Sound Magazinewww.wusiksoundmagazine.com

Issue September 2009

Managing Editor: MoniKeAssistant Editors: Per Lichtman Damion Johnston

WilliamKProduction Manager: MoniKe

Articles by:

A. Arsovwww.arsov.net

Damion JohnstonDave ClarkDavid [email protected]

Ginno 'g.no' Legaspiwww.myspace.com/gnomusic

Per Lichtmanwww.soundclick.com/perlichtman

VP/Music and Creative, Beyond Belief Music Corp.

[email protected] - aka Sir [email protected]

Trustywww.myspace.com/[email protected]

WilliamK

Proof-Reading by:Damion Johnston - aka EMDave ClarkPer LichtmanPeggy

Pictures:www.dreamstime.com

Front Cover Henry Gibson

Per Lichtman MoniKe

http://www.arsov.net

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.myspace.com/gnomusic

http://www.soundclick.com/perlichtman


http://www.sir-joe.com


http://www.myspace.com/crosssoldiers


http://www.dreamstime.com

Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Grooving with Wusik Station by WilliamK

Creating Sounds:Hoover Tutorial

by Robert Parry

Interview:Thomas Dolby

by Squibs

Ask Doctor Jack

Synth Romance: The Wusik Machine Project

by WilliamK

04

10

14

64

43

Review:

d16 Group Redoptor by Ginno Legaspi

Diamonds Of Orient & Indian Dance Classic by A. Arsov

FXpansion Guru by A. Arsov

PSP sQuad by David Keenum

Image Line's Gross Beat by Squibs

Sanford Reverb v2.0.1 by David Keenum

Tonehammer Goes SFZ! by David Keenum

Sonnox Essential Bundle by A. Arsov

Mini Reviews:

Soundware Round-up by Ginno Legaspi

28

50

46

40

34

44

56

22

24

http://www.arsov.net


http://www.myspace.com/gnomusic

http://www.soundclick.com/perlichtman


http://www.sir-joe.com


http://www.myspace.com/crosssoldiers


http://www.dreamstime.com

04 Wusik Sound Magazine September 2009

by WilliamK

Grooving with Wusik Station

Creating Groove Sequences with Mr GSince the latest Wusik Station version update (V5), you

now have a full-featured Groove Sequencer included

inside. So let's take a look at how we can create some

nice grooves with this nifty tool.

05www.WusikSoundMagazine.com September 2009

First, let me point out that thistutorial uses the new White-Skincreated by Cusis. The Groove

Sequencer is in the G Layer. Justclick G, which is next to W2 and M,

to open the Groove Sequencer, alsoknow as the Groove Box.

Be sure to load up the Initpatch, so you don't have

anything else but Layer O1and the Pure-Sine waveform.



Now by default it will be set to Drummode, output note C3. That means that ifyou click on a step, it's going to send aNote C3 to MIDI-Channel 01, internally. Ifyou want to set to MIDI-Out (externally)just click the first lane (1) again andselect MIDI-Out: Enabled.

If you are using Wusik Station to play thenotes, meaning that you want it to handlesounds, here is a quick way to startsetting that up.

Click O1 above to open the first layer. Atthe bottom, next to Vol and Pan, clickMIDI CH and set to Ch 1. That will makethis layer respond to MIDI-Channel 01only. Now go to the other layers, O2, O3,O4, W1 and W2, and do the same, but foreach, set Ch 2 for O2, Ch 3 for O3, and soon. You should end up with 6 layers,each responding to a different MIDI-Channel: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Be sure toactivate each layer by clicking on it twiceso that it lights up blue (White-Skin).

Now in layer O1, let's load a sound fromthe Drum Collection 1. Click the Pure Sine--- this will open the file-browser. SelectWusikstation->Drum Collection 1->Kicks.

Note that the Groove Sequencer onlysends MIDI-Notes; it doesn't do anysound processing. So you can either sendNote On/Off internally or externally,meaning that you can even use it tocontrol an external synth, not just WusikStation sounds.



If your MIDI-Keyboard is set to Channel01, you can check the loaded sound now.

Now let's go back to Layer G and drawsome steps in the first Sequencer-Lane (1).

You can click on each step to toggle it on-off, or just use the Mouse Wheel or even

Shift+Mouse-Button to adjust the volumeof each step.

Click Play, or click the Layer G selectorabove, or even press Return/Enter on yourcomputer keyboard. The sequence should

be playing now, and you can hear theLayer O1 sound playing in the sequence.You can also rename this first Sequence

Lane by right-clicking and selectingRename.

For the next step, let's add a Snare soundto the sequence. Go to Layer O2, makesure it's activated, and click Silence to

load another sound. Proceed toWusikstation->Drum Collection 1->Snares.



Do the same thing for Layer O3, but loada HiHat Closed sound. In Layer O4, load aHiHat Open Sound. For Layer O5, loadsomething else. Let's say...just go aheadand choose any percussion sound.

Go back to Layer G and click on (2) Off toset MIDI-Channel to 2. Draw some Stepsand play the sequence again.


Grooving with Wusik StationYou can adjust the AMP Envelope for eachlayer according to what you want, adding

some release or quick decay with zerosustain if you want to shorten the sound.

Click on SEQ, hold and move up until allthe sequences are gone and you see (6)

Off at the top. Those are the nextSequence Lanes. You have up to 16 Lanes,

which allows you to create some reallycomplex Grooves.

For Lane (6), click and select the sameMIDI-Channel you have selected for LayerW2, which should be Ch 6. Click again andselect Mode->Note. Now, select the Steps

you want to add notes on, and enablethose steps. Below the step, you should

see the – icon; click there, hold and moveup and down to select the note you want.Alternatively, use the Rem.Edit (RemoteEdit) option which makes it much easier.

After selecting it, click in the first step youwant to edit. You can also right-click

Rem.Edit for some extra options, whichallows an easier editing of the notes.

Be sure to load another sound on Layer W2, let's say a synth sound. Nowyou can add a nice synth line in this Sequence (6). If you want a sound tostop, double-click in a step so it adds a Note-Off to it. Otherwise, it onlydoes a Note-Off when it reaches the next step.

If you want to add more notes, just use Sequence (7) and do the samesettings as in Sequence (6), so you can add two notes at the same time forLayer W2. You can even set more Sequence Lanes for that same Layer W2Channel and have multiple notes playing out for that Layer W2 Sound.

This should get you groovin' with Wusik Station. Additionally, you can alsocheck out the Video Tutorials on how to use the Groove Sequencer byvisiting:

http://www.wusik.com/w/tutorials.html


Creating

Sounds

Hoover Tutorial

In this Tutorial I will be show-ing you how to create thatClassic Hoover sound createdoriginally on the Roland Junosynhtesizer.

The Hoover sound is used inmany OLD Rave tracks and hasthat distinctive sweeping pitchsound.

Hoover Tutorial

by Robert Parry


1. Creating the Hoover.

We wil be using 4 Oscillators forthis sound.

Osc 1

Start of with a saw wave or theincluded Ametrine saw low sound.Next detune the saw wave a wholeOctave (-12). Switch mono modeon and Auto portamento also. Nextwe need the sound to sweep usinga mod Envolope.Set the attack of the mod env 1 to36 and the decay to 49.

In the Mod Matrix set the source toMod Env 1, the destination to 01Pitch and the amount to 7

Osc 2

The best thing to do is to copyoscillator one into osc 2.

The only thing we need to changewith osc 2 is the tune is set to zero.So no transposing is happening. Alow pass 4 pole filter needs to beset up, with filter frequency set to65.The final thing to set up is themod matrix again. This time theSource should be mod env 1 toDestination 02 Pitch. The amountis also set to 7.


Creating

Sounds

Osc 3

Oscillator 3 is exactly the same asoscillator one except the fine tuneis set to - 30. Best to copyoscillator one over to osc 3 andapply the changes. The mod Matrixalso needs to be set up with Source= Mod env 1 and destination = 03Pitch with amount set to 7

Osc 4

Oscillator 4 is a carbon copy of osc2. So best to copy over osc 2 toosc 4. The fine tune needs to beset to - 30 also. Next the modmatrix needs to be set up asfollows: source = Mod env 1 andDestination = 04 pitch with 7Amount

Hoover Tutorial

http://www.ametrineaudio.com/


The Effects Section

We are going to add 2 effects to thesounds now to give it a bit of bite.

In effects one add a stereo echo. Underdelay echo - Stereo echo - set the delayto 1/12 and the oversl sound level to 30

In effects two we are going to adddouble Chorus and fast setting. SoChorus - Double chorus and then set thefx to fast. The overall sound level shouldbe 90.

Finally in the master section set the fx 1and fx 2 sounds levels for each of the 4oscillators. Fx 1 and 2 sound levels areboth 80.

The Hoover sound is basically a fewdetuned saw waves with the pitch beingmodulated up or down.For example: the pitch of the sound risesfairly quickly and then drops back downto its original level.The pitch can also be made to do otherthings like a long pitch bend and thenstay at that pitch.

http://www.ametrineaudio.com

http://www.ametrineaudio.com/


by Squibs

Thomas Dolby is a manof many talents. He is amusician, producer and atechnological innovator.He conquered the chartsin the 80s, with a stringof hits including

“Hyperactive” and “SheBlinded Me With Science”.He has worked withmany stellar artistsincluding David Bowie,Foreigner and StevieWonder, to name but afew.

These days, he works inhis private studio - aconverted 1930s ship'slifeboat in his garden onthe beach, which runs onwind and solar power.

Thomas Dolby


WSM: Prefab Sprout's SteveMcQueen has been one of myfavourite albums for a long time. Ilike it as much for the quality ofthe production as for the power ofPaddy McAloon's songwriting. Canyou tell me a little about therecording of that album?

Thomas Dolby: Yes. Well, I hadn'tknown The Sprouts for very long. I'dcome across them because I wasinvited to be a guest on a BBC showcalled “Round Table” where you haveto review new singles. It came toPrefab Sprout's single -- a band I'dnever heard of, and the song wascalled "Don't Sing". I instantly lovedit and said, "This is fantastic!" buteverybody else slagged it off. Theband and their manager, KeithArmstrong, were listening in, and theydecided that I had given them a goodplug on the radio. So they came backto me after that and said that theywere interested in finding a producer,and did I want to talk to them aboutit?

I took a train up to County Durhamand met with the McAloon brothers,who were both living in their mum'shouse, which was a rectory in an oldcatholic church, and the crucifixeswere on the wall and so on. I sat withPaddy in his tiny bedroom, which wasnot much bigger than the bed itself,

and under the bed there were stacksof sheets of lyrics. And he pulled outhis lyrics, and he'd sit there and thechord notation was written over thelyrics. He sat there and played me -- Idon't know -- probably 60 or 70 songs.Out of those, I picked my favouritesand we went into a rehearsal room inLondon and worked them over andthen recorded them in the space of, Ithink, probably about a month andthen maybe a couple of weeks formixing.

So it was quite a fast album to do,and I'm very flattered when peopletalk about the production, but I'd saythat 80% of the production is in thearrangements. If you have goodcomposition and an arrangementwhich makes sense and which leavesgaps, to fill with good parts and withgood sounds, then engineering theappropriate sounds and mixing itcomes easy.

WSM: That was one of the things Iparticularly loved about thealbum; it was simultaneouslysparse and lush.

Thomas Dolby: Yeah, well I mean it'sgot a good sound-scape to it, and partof that is because Paddy has a veryintimate and expressive voice, andthen the "bed" of Wendy Smith'sharmonies behind him, double tracked

left and right, is so different in a waybecause she sings very straight.Somebody pointed out that it's almostlike having two lead vocals going onsimultaneously. I think that's reallywhat gave the album its flavour. Theother thing is that he...he often singsin a very breathy and close kind ofvoice, but every now and then he letsrip, so there's a sort of tension andrelease that happens in his musicwhich I think is really special. He hassort of a brash exhibitionist side whichoccasionally comes to the surface,even though a lot of the time he'svery hermit-like -- a sort ofintroverted mysterious character andmaybe later in his career that brashside surfaced more and more seldom.I think that some of the laterrecordings, though they're verypleasant, you don't get that contrastwhen he screams a word like

"Antiques".

WSM: What was your firstsynthesizer?

Thomas Dolby: A Transcendent 2000,which had been built from a kit fromdirections on the back of, I think,

"Electronics Today" magazine. Thatwas a fairly hit-and-miss affair. Fromthere, I got a Micromoog, which wasthe first sort of affordable Moog. I sayaffordable -- I mean I think it was1500 quid and it played one note at a


time <laughs>, but it was affordablecompared to the big modular synths.From there I went on to a RolandJupiter 4 which had four voices and Irecorded a lot of my first album withjust those two (Micromoog and RolandJupiter 4).

The thing is...when you're limited forvoices or tracks or whatever, youhave to be very creative andingenious with the sounds that youpick. And there wasn't often theopportunity to go back and redosomething, so you had to build it as

you went along and you had to takechances. But I think that's actually apositive context to be working in,versus today when you have endlessoptions and possibilities and youalways have the option to go back andredo something. And that's very niceand it's made music accessible to a farwider range of people, which is good.But on the nostalgic side, I always feela sort of affection for those early dayswhen nobody really knew what theywere doing and you had to takechances and be quite daring.

WSM: So do you work mostly withsoft synthesizers and digital audioworkstations at the moment?

Thomas Dolby: Well, I tend to thesedays, because it's always...it's aboutconvenience mainly, because I canwork for a few hours and then switcheverything off and it'll come upexactly the way I left it, and I canswitch between songs, and so on. Ahardware keyboard or synthesizer isanother 4 or 5 leads that can gowrong or get unplugged or getswitched around or whatever, and a


bunch of knobs that can get knocked. Ilike the effort that I put in when I'mworking...I like to know that that'sgonna survive 'til the end. I don't likethe feeling that its all a fragile house ofcards that, if I leave it overnight orswitch to another song, I might losewhat I had.

So the convenience, really, of softwaresynths is that you work as you go alongand then you take a snapshot. Youknow when you quit out of it and turn itoff, you're taking a snapshot which youcan return to when you carry on. Andthen, yeah obviously, a digital audioworkstation means that I can work athome, don't have a long commute, don'thave to pay hundreds of pounds an hourin studio costs. And yet, it's all verycompatible these days, so if I go off towork with somebody else, I can justbring a hard drive with me and it'll justcome up pretty much the way it was onmy home studio.

WSM: Do you have a go-to softsynth? What would be yourfavourite soft synth at the moment?

Thomas Dolby: I use a Virus Polar. Thatis a piece of hardware, although inreality it's kind of like a £2000 donglebecause there's a software version of itwhich you can only run if the hardwareis connected.

WSM: And do you tend to use factorypresets or do you like to roll yourown?

Thomas Dolby: I'll sometimes flipthrough presets to find something tostart from, but I do usually roll my own.When I get a new synth, I tend to gothrough the presets and save favouritesor zap the ones that I hate. And some ofthem are so huge these days, that younever get through the presets. I mean, Ibought Omnisphere recently and I thinkI'm about as far as the G's <laughs>.

So next time I've got a couple of days towaste, I'll go from H through Z.

WSM: One of the biggest problems Ifind when I'm recording,particularly my own stuff, is that I'llgo to set up a signal path and by thetime I've selected my mic and mypreamp, I'm in left brain mode somy inspiration is gone. When you'reworking as a producer, do you tendto leave the technical stuff tosomebody else?

Thomas Dolby: Well I know the exactproblem and it is quite hard to switchsides of your brain, and I thinkdistressing actually, when you feel youhave that thing and you feel it's quiteeasy to betray the original idea becauseyou got caught up with somethingtechnical. That, again, is part of theappeal of just having the ability topower up and have everything be rightthere, versus have to plug things in andyou can see it in the meters but youcan't hear it in the speakers.

When I'm working on sounds, I verymuch do it on my own, and I'm fast andit would really slow me down to have towork with an engineer. My techniquethese days is... I'm not very fond oftwiddling knobs to create sounds fromscratch -- I like bigger building blocks.So on the album that I'm doing, I tendto work with real musicians, and whenyou're working with real musicians, thepremium really is on their time andenergy -- not studio time or tech orwhatever. For example, a couple ofweeks ago, I was in a studio inCalifornia working with a brass section(The Jazz Mafia) and I did probably 14-15 takes of their parts straight into ProTools, whereas in the old days youwould have taken a lot of care to get itright, check the tuning, punch in andout for a few notes or phrases here andthere and maybe end up with two orthree good takes to choose from.


These days you want to get themdown and get them out of there --once I'm back home, time is not somuch of a premium, so I tend to justwhack down lots of takes and keep anear out for things that they getrepeatedly wrong. Something that'sdifficult for them to finger, or there's atuning issue, and then I'll go back andwork on that bit specifically and makesure I have it. But then when I gethome, I just cut and paste, down tothe individual notes and syllables.

And similarly with my vocals -- I'll doseveral takes of vocals and invariablythere's like one or two lines wherethey're very hard for me to sing, andso I know that by the time I get home,I have several options for the easylines and no options for the hard lines.I'll very often take the line that'sdifficult and I'll just sing that over andover again against the backing track --looping it, so I've got maybe 20versions of that line completely out ofcontext. And then invariably fromrepeating, there'll be one line in therethat's good and then I'll just drop thatinto -- you know -- the real thing. Iprefer bigger building blocks and veryoften on this album, I'm cutting andpasting entire drum and bass fills fromone take to another and things likethat.

WSM: An acquaintance of minewanted me to ask you about

"Hyperactive." He's beenfascinated by it since it first cameout and he wanted to know if youcan remember what was going onin your head when you wrote it.

Thomas Dolby: Well, I actually wroteit for Michael Jackson, which is kind ofa timely piece of trivia. I'd metMichael through a roundabout set ofcircumstances and had visited him inLos Angeles when he was about tostart working on a Jacksons albumcalled "Victory." He asked me if I hadanything or if I could come up withanything that might be appropriate forhim to sing on that album. So Iworked on the groove a bit and

"Hyperactive" is what I came up with. Isent it to Michael, and he liked thegroove but he didn't want to sing thesong really, so I ended up doing itmyself. It's partly a reflection on me,'cos that was partly me when I was akid. It's just about the idea of takingthat energy and vitality that you havewhen you're a kid and still have as agrown-up.

WSM: You're just about to re-release "The Golden Age ofWireless" and "The Flat Earth."

Thomas Dolby: Yeah -- they actually

come out today. [This interview wasrecorded on the 13th July 2009.]

WSM: So what was it like to revisitthat material after all these years?

Thomas Dolby: Well it was a lot of fun-- only I wasn't interested in remixingit or 5.1 or anything like that. There'snothing about the original that I reallyfeel I need to redo, you know...I don'thave any regrets about it. So it wasreally just a case of doing a better jobof mastering it, you know...it's hard toget stuff onto vinyl, so with modernmastering techniques I was lookingforward to having higher qualitymastering on the new release, andthen also because "The Golden Age ofWireless" in particular came out in lotsof different forms, through the UK andAmerican releases it seemed to makesense to try and have acomprehensive "Golden Age ofWireless" which had all possiblevariants.

In addition there are a few bonustracks that didn't make it onto thealbum, demo versions of album tracksthat I thought were interesting, so wedecided to do a deluxe package. Thenin addition, included in the packagefor "Golden Age of Wireless," is a DVDof a thing called "Live Wireless" whichis a live concert that I did in 1984 and


was only available up to now, I think,as a laser disc!

WSM: So you're working on a newalbum at the moment?

Thomas Dolby: Yes I am, yeah. I'mmaybe one third or halfway into it.

WSM: And when do you expectthat it will be released?

Thomas Dolby: When it's finished

WSM: <Laughs> Good answer!

Thomas Dolby: I mean, my currentplan, and this may change is...thesongs seem to fall into threecategories. So I had this idea torelease three downloadable EPs with 3or four songs on each, followed by aphysical album that would contain allof them plus some extra songs. That'smy current plan and if I do that, thenat least the first of those will certainlybe out this year, but other than that Ican't really tell. I think after an 18-year gap people can wait a littlelonger for me to get it right.

WSM: You were one of the earlyadopters of the Internet and allthe possibilities that it offers, andI see that your blog and twitterfeed are very active. Has social

networking changed the way youinteract with your fan base?

Thomas Dolby: Certainly, yeah. Itmakes a huge difference because inthe old days you had so many stagesto go through before you'd actuallyget real feedback from fans. Not onlywas it harder to record, even for thelucky ones that had a record contract,as I did...you know...?

I'd record and then I'd have to play itfor my A&R man and hopefully hewould sign off on it, but the thepromotions and marketing and radiodepartments had to approve it and ifthey approved it then the radioprogrammers had to like it and put iton the radio and the retail shopowners had to like it and stock it. Andthen it would get out there and peoplewould know about it, and only thendid the general public get to reallyreact to it.

Other than playing live there was veryfew ways for me to get feedback. Imean, you might get bags of fan mail,but that's always going to be gushingand positive. You never really knowhow it connects with people 'cos ayear, 18 months afterwards you getchart positions and hopefully a royaltystatement and so on, but even thenyou don't know why did they buy it.

Did they buy it because they heard"Hyperactive" on the radio? Did theybuy it because a friend played themthe album and they heard "ScreenKiss" and fell in love with it? And whatkind of people are these? Are theyanorak-wearing trainspotters that areinterested in how I connected my OBX8 to my Minimoog or are theyromantic, poetic individuals thatcaught that flavour in the music?

They're just units really and the wholerecord business is built on shiftingunits. There's almost zero knowledgereally of who the fans were and whatthey really felt about it. It was greatwhen it was working and you'd get bignumbers and you'd see your poster inW.H. Smiths on a High Street or you'dgo on Top of the Pops and you'd think

"Wow! I must be a big star". But, younever really felt that feedback fromthe fans and it's come so far nowbecause I can put rough mixes on theInternet at the press of a button andget some initial feedback from peopleas to what they thought of it. I thinkthings are much better these days,really.

Xenos Soundworks

Offering custom sound designfor softsynth owners and

hardware or software sample owners.

Also offering ready-made presetbanks for various softsynths.

www.xenossoundworks.com

http://www.xenossoundworks.com


d16 Group Redoptor

by Ginno Legaspi

d16 Group, the software developersknown to emulate classic Rolandbeatboxes, are becoming increasinglypopular by releasing affordable, yetgood sounding plug-ins. They haveadded yet another effect to theirSilverline lineup. This time it is in theguise of Redoptor: a softwareemulation of a vintage tube preamp.That is the official release description,but there's so much more to it that Isee it as a multi-functional plug-in.d16's web page doesn't reveal ifRedoptor is modeled after a specificpiece of hardware, but they didmention that this plug-in is of high-quality and that it has a very preciselymodeled tube distortion section. Thisgot me curious, so let's take a look.

Redoptor costs 35 Eur and it comes inAU and VST formats for both Mac(OSX 10.4.3) and PC (Win 2000/XP).If you happen to buy the wholeSilverline bundle or the Total plug-inbundle, d16 gives you a substantialsavings of up to 26% off. Once youbuy a license and install the product,

activating it is a piece of cake. Justcopy the key file provided by d16 toyour plug-ins folder. Once you startyour host/DAW it is ready forunlimited use.

Launching the product for the firsttime reveals Redoptor's fantasticlooking GUI. And like the otherSilverline products, it looks like theGUI has been lifted from an 80's hi-fistereo--really cool. I love it because itadds a bit of the fun factor to usingthe plug-in. I thought the little add-ontube image has some kind of functionor hid an Easter egg surprise. But, itdid nothing for me. Displaying it thereis neat, nonetheless. Navigating iseasy; the various controls are prettymuch straightforward and it doeswhat it's supposed to do.

Redoptor's various modules arebroken down into different sections. Itcontains a Preamp Gain (which can beoverdriven) complete with adjustablelo/hi-pass filter. This will allow forsound shaping of source materials

before it's amplified and fed to thenext stage. The Tube Control consistsof tone shaping knobs for Bias, Tone,and Brightness. These controls willsculp the sound in terms of harmonicsgenerated by the tube distortion. Theycan control the harmonics in a moreor less subtle/noisy way, but testingRedoptor in Orion 7.6 definitelyimproved presence and warmth of thesouce materials I tried. With highlyusuable stock presets, I managed todial-in the right one for anIndustrial/EBM-style drum pattern Iprogrammed to give it that "in-your-face-sound."

When you think of tube distortioneffects, people mostly associate itwith guitars. But non-six-stringedinstruments such as synth basses,synths arps and percussive loops canalso benefit from Redoptor as I havestated. If experimentation andtweaking is your game, slightparameter adjustments will give thedistortion and rich harmonics youneed. Finally, a 4-band parametric

d16 Group Redoptor


http://www.d16.pl


equalizer section will further process thetone of your signal. It allows you totweak the Frequency, Gain andBandwidth (Q). d16 states that mosttypical amps available have a fixedgraphical equalizer, with 3 or 4 bandsand only allow gain of the signal. WithRedoptor's EQ, the bands arecontrollable making it more flexible andunique.

As I come to expect from d16, Redoptoris a very high-quality tube distortionplug-in. It is capable of wearing different

"sound masks." It can give digitalinstruments a vintage, older-qualitysound. It can be pleasant, warm andclean one minute, yet it can distort youraudio material like there's no tomorrow.One thing I learned in processing loopsis that it is sometimes good to apply abit of saturation or subtle distortion tomake them "jump-right-out-of-the-speakers". Redoptor fits perfectly for thisjob because it imparts a good tubesound - giving new life to older drumand percussion loops. The results can besatistfying with this trick. And trust me,Redoptor is up to the task.

CONTACT: [email protected], www.d16.pl

PRICE: €35 (Silverline Collection and Total Bundle are also available)

COPY PROTECTION: Key file

FORMAT/SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Redoptor is available in VSTand AU format for PC and Mac. It's a dynamic library (.dll file) forPC (VST only) and Universal Binary bundle for Mac (VST and AU).To use the product you need Windows 2000/XP or Mac OS X 10.4.3or later. It is not a standalone program, so you need a VST or AUcompatible host application to use it.


http://www.d16.pl

24 Wusik Sound Magazine August 2009

A few months ago, we went to England with family. Wesaw a lot of “must see” charming things, but the thingthat impressed me the most was the united colours ofLondon's underground. I really enjoyed being with allthose people: red, black, yellow, white, albino and allother colours and shades from all around the globe. It is agift of life that we are so equal and yet so different at thesame time. I enjoyed listening to their conversation. Ienjoyed listening to the melodies of their exotic languages.Because there is nothing so boring in the world, at leastfor me, than to spend a life always among slightlyoverweight, white-caucasian people that are all dressed

the same, talking the same dialect, and most of the timetalking about the same things over and over through allthe days and years -- as happens in my small home town.

Okay, so much about people. But, the same thing hashappened with my songs, or even maybe with your songs.Using just your same ordinary tools and your usual genrewith your same boring expected sounds will take younowhere. The world doesn't need just another cleanexample of an existing genre. A song without anydistinction is like a soup without any spice. Could someoneplease pass the salt at least?

by A. Arsov

&

United Colours of LondonBestservice strikes again.


A loop DVD containing two GB of exotic ethnic percussionloops and construction kits. A bunch of wildly “almost neverheard before” percussive instruments played by well knownnative musicians from all these "exotic" countries: Azerbaijan,Persia, Chechenia (Chechnya), Turkmenistan, Bulgaria,Macedonia to name only a few of them and there are manyother included eastern countries. Nagara, Hollo, Davul andBendir, Tumba or Zil are just a few of the instruments whichwill dance through your ears in all measures and styles. Lookat the time signatures: 3/4, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8, 9/8, 10/8, 12/8 --you name it and you get it! All in all there are 113construction kits and 846 single instrument loops from 55 BPMto 260 BPM.

Every hit or loop is recorded clearly in high quality, so your jobis to only find the right one. I spiced up plenty of my newsongs with loops from this DVD. Maybe those loops will notend up like a main loop in your genre-dependent song, but Ican assure you that it will add that extra live feel along with atouch of exotic lands and captivating rhythms.

There is perhaps not so much to write about this DVD, butthere is definitively plenty to hear on it. It is a quality andhandy tool for filling up musical holes or making livelychoruses. The main distinction from the Indian Dance Classiclibrary is that most of the loops on Diamonds Of Orient aremore on the laid back side, covering slower to mid-temporhythms, and for that reason this library is maybe moresuitable for slower downtempo or ambient genres, while theloops on Indian Dance Classic are better aimed for fulfillingyour uptempo dance songs.

Dual Layer DVD 6,35 GB (WAV 1,99 GB)55 BPM - 260 BPMMultiformat: WAV, AIFF, REX2, SAGE (Stylus RMX)Price: 87 Euros

Rhythm of differences

Diamonds Of Orient


Another part of the world, but with similar usability,quality, and quantity of goodies included; along with thesame price. There are 750 high-quality loops rangingfrom 86 to 200 BPM recorded from all over India. AllIndian dance styles are included, but please don't makeme name them--I would break my fingers while trying totype them, and you would break your tongue readingthem aloud. No matter how strange those names sound,to me, the listening pleasure is top notch.

The DVD is separated by styles, and inside you will findbasic rhythm, fills intros, ends, and some freestyles. Thesame goes for Diamonds Of Orient – no main loop story,but everything else works like a charm. Tablas,Pakhaway, Dholak, Duggis and other instruments andbeats will dance through your songs making them moreunique and far more interesting. Maybe it is all matter oftaste, but if you need some fresh ideas for your song, Ican assure you that you can't go wrong with this library.There are some loops in a slower tempo, but most ofthem are on a faster, more danceable side and can easilyfind their way sitting along with your four-on-the-floorbeats. My favourite part of this library is the one from theRhythm vocal directory -- a bunch of rhythmical loopsrecorded with a voice. As you can imagine, they arepretty much different from the familiar hip hop mouthbeats we all know. They're using the same instrument,but definitely, with a totally different approach. I like it!

750 Acidized WAV files750 AIFF Apple Loops750 Stylus compatible REX2 filesPrice: 87 Euros

Indian Dance Classic

&


Maybe those libraries are not for everyone's taste,but both libraries are stuffed with quality recordedexotic loops. The loops on Diamonds Of Orient,sound-wise, are also more versatile than is the casewith those from Indian Dance Classic. In general,Diamonds Of Orient contain more versatile rhythmscovering a wider sound pallet, but on the otherhand all those vivid and uplifting loops from theIndian Dance Classic library are really unmissable ifyou are making dance productions.

No matter which library you choose, it is a fact thatoriginality sells. So, employing either Diamonds ofOrient or Indian Dance Classic library, you will addsome extra spice to your songs and made themmore unique and more interesting. A soup withoutspice is just water with vegetables and noodles. Trythem and you will know what I have been talkingabout.

As one of my friends says: "spices are spices for ourlife's enjoyment." Perhaps, just nonsense, butthere's truth in there at the same time. Spices havebeen used for millenia to add flavor, health andvitality to our foods. Use some spice, and addversatility to your music, and to life!

Imejte se dobro in uživajte v branju - That's what Iwas talking about. ;-)

This all may sound strange to you, but at the sametime it lets you know that there is also life outsideof our individual little worlds.

Conclusion from the otherpart of the world

&


FXpansion Guruby A. Arsov

FXpansion Guru


A drum workstation from the past– still on the rail, still on sale.

Old toys for old boys

Why in the world would someonewant to review an old piece ofsoftware? As you know, Guru is atleast two-years old, and yes,there were some minor upgradesduring that time; adding a fewuseful improvements along withsome additional outputs, but stillnothing revolutionary. It's been along way from version 1.0.0 to1.6.2. So what's happened? Am Ishort on drum tools? Eh, always –but to tell you the real truth –Nope!! I'm a happy owner of asatisfying number of drum looplibraries and have a nicecollection of most of the newfancy beat workstations. I couldeasily envision myself beating andbanging rhythms from myimpressive collection till the endof my existence.

But

There is always some alternativein real life. I visited FXpansion'ssite to get information about oneof their other products andnoticed that they are still sellingtheir old Guru. It used to be animpressive piece of software wayback when, and it was released asa result of a cooperation betweenDevine Machine and FXpansioncompany. As they still sell it in aprice range which is almost equalto some of the brand newcompetitors, I decided todownload the demo to see what

was the reason for suchmarketing arrogance. Afterspending a few minutes with thedemo version, I realized that itwas my arrogance and not theirs,because I have absolutelyunderestimated this old product.During that same moment, I gotthe strong impression that thisdrum fellow would become mymain drum tool.

Decisions, decisions

So what is so impressive aboutthis old bit of software thatimpressed me so much? Here it is,clear and right to the point: theinterface -- where everything isso logical and easy tounderstand; combined with anexcellent loop sequencer where allhits from previewed loops areautomatically ordered infrequency-divided rows inside theinternal sequencer's window. Atthe same time, all slicedhits/parts are also sorted on padsand linked with sequencer rows.

My dreams have come true: I canfinally edit loops on the fly.Browsing through the loop library,we get slices from a selected loop,sorted into sixteen pads which arethemselves sorted into four rowscontaining four pads in each row.From bottom to top, we get rowswith Kicks, above that Snares,then Hats, and finally Percussionat the top. It sounds impressive,but does it really work? Okay, it is

neither a brain surgeon nor aperfect machine. There is alwayssome kick played simultaneouslywith a hat or a hat with otherpercussion. Kicks with a hatusually end up in a kick row,while percussion with hats areusually placed somewhere into ahat row, but nevertheless there isalways some clean kick or hat inthe loop, and at the same timeyou can add some extra hits onthe fly by just drawing the desiredhit in a sequencer window, orsimply by hitting your keyboard.If you prefer, you can also dragsliced and automatically recycledMIDI clips from previewed loopsto the host's MIDI track forfurther manipulation, but most ofthe time there is no need fordoing that, because messingaround with the internalsequencer is pure joy.Rearranging the loop or justchanging a separate hit with anyother sound from your librarytakes just a matter of seconds.

So, that was my love story withthe internal sequencer window.Now, it is time to present to youthe drum pads. Pressing the Stopbutton inside the Guru interfacecauses the loop to stop playing;then you can use hits from theloop which are presorted on thepads, or you can simply use hitsfrom one of the selected kits (asit is not just a loop-oriented tool)for playing them through yourkeyboard, or for triggering it with


FXpansion Guru


a MIDI clip. Pressing the pad editbutton, which can be found in amenu window under the pads, weget an audio editor window (insteadof a sequencer window) for settingthe slice points along with all otherediting possibilities which will bedescribed more a bit later. Left at thebottom of the interface is one of thebest-organised small browsers I'veseen 'til now: divided into pattern,kits, pads, and loops sections.Pressing any of them will route youto the last previewed directory forthe section you choose, and allthings available are previewed in thecontext of your arrangement; syncedto the host tempo. In practice thatmeans if you choose a loop but don'tlike the loop's kick, you just need topress the pad containing the kick youwant to change and then press thepad section changing from loops topads so that you can now browsethrough your kick directory to findthe right one. Guru is pretty CPU-friendly, so there are no glitchesduring this process, not even on myold laptop. It works like a charm, andthat's not all.

That is not all” section

Guru costs 137 Euro and comes withmore than four gigs of audio content(that's according to the manual;almost six gigs if you ask me and mydisk) in a bunch of various kitscovering all styles -- and very goodkits indeed. There are a solid numberof patterns, a great number of drumhits, and a pretty big collection ofvery useful loops, at least for me. Allgenres, all styles. My favourite partof the included libraries are the third-

party loops from various renownedproducers. All those kits, loops, andpatterns are almost worthy of theasking price. I said almost, becausemost of the new workstations alsocome with a similar quantity ofadditional goodies, but neverthelesslet us not forget Guru itself.

Guru itself, continued

GURU has eight independent engines.This means that you can load up toeight loops or combination of loops,kits, patterns, hits, or beats -- all atonce. Every engine has a completeset of editing tools: independentsequencer, sixteen pads, up to threeeffects, graph and pad editingwindows, more or less everythingthat GURU offers is multiplied byeight. I find that this is really handywhen you are quickly searching forsome additional loops or you want toadd some additional things in yourarrangement. I am Mr. ExportingMan, and when I like something, Iexport it as audio for furtherimplementation; but I also find thismulti-ability as a very handy thingfor experimenting with thearrangement, adding hits or loops onthe fly, or for changing things upuntil the last minute. This is the firsttime that I have ever used aninstrument as a standalone, not justinside a host. In my spare time, Iloaded some instrumental loops inthe first engine, then I browsed forappropriate loops in other engines onmy old laptop, saving everything asa Guru song. Later when I startworking on my song in a host, I hadall the loops already chosen.


FXpansion Guru

So, in each engine there is a set ofsixteen “pads,” each of them acting asa pad on a classical drum sampler. Upto eight samples can be layered insideeach pad, in unison or separated byvelocity layers. This is handy forachieving a more natural feel bylayering various snares or hats, or youcan go mad with all of your hits! Eachpad can be routed to one of the threeeffects or to the Pad edit windowwhere other madnesses can beapplied: Gain, pan pitch, filter,start/end points, reverse, amplitudeor low-filter envelopes. There is also anice sorting tool that is also designedfor a mad scientist.

But the real fun begins with thebefore-mentioned sequencer windowinside the pattern editor, where eachpattern can have up to four pageswith 32 steps each. (Don't mistakethis with patterns inside the browserwhere the MIDI files can be browsedalong with some included patternsfrom the library.) Under the editorwindow is a row with pattern knobs(those rounded buttons arranged likea keys from a keyboard under thesequencers window). These are forsaving the current pattern, so making,saving, and obtaining variations is amatter of one click. If you need anyother time signature, all you need todo is to grab the right edge ofsequencer's window and drag it to theleft until you reach the desirednumber of steps. This also works wellwith loops. Between the sequencerwindow and the browser window is atiny row filled with buttons forswitching between various editors.They are for opening the Pattern,Graphs, Pad edit, Aux Effects, Mix,Scenes and Options windows, and

there are also additional Save, Loadand Save-As buttons.

In the Pad edit window you can getspecific with layering and shaping thesample, as it is with all good sampleeditors. The Graph editor with stepautomation graphs is more aimed atthe mad scientist who likes to drawasymmetrical lines, changing variousparameters throughout the pattern.The Graph editor can change velocity,pan, pitch, filter envelope andresonance, repeat, shift reverse andscrub. Don't ask – download it and tryit for yourself. There are eight mixerchannels in a mixer window, with panand pitch options. Every pad can beheavily pitched inside the pad editwindow, but pitching a whole loop onthe fly can produce some really wildeffects in your arrangements, gettingthe effect as if the loop is coming outof the tunnel. Definitively not thesame as just filtering the loop withlow pass filter. Talking about theeffects – in the Aux Effects sectionyou can set up to three effects. Youcan choose between the whole widerange of various and useful effects.I'm not prepared to list them all, sofeel free to find the details in one ofthe included pictures. There areperhaps a lot of other importantdetails, but as this is not the GuruSpecial Wusik Edition, we shouldprobably stop here and let you toexplore it deeper for yourself afteryou download the demo version.

Time for the entirety?

Eh, not exactly. It is an excellentdrum tool, but there is one main pointwhere age shows its colours.Exporting audio is a bit of pain. You

have to press a record button first,along with settings that you would liketo export, and after that you can usea drag-and-drop button to drag it inyour host. O.K. --- it works, and itexports audio in 24-bit depth, but it isnot up-to-date. We live in a simpledrag-and-drop time, and Guru is fromthe beginning of that era, so you haveto take three steps instead of one toget your audio into a host. It is not areally big issue, and secondly I'mused to recording everything directlyto the host anyway, so I rarely useany of these exporting options on anyinstrument. The second strange issueis that Guru can't import kits fromDR-008. I would really like to have atleast one workstation which canimport third-party libraries. I know itis a mostly a copyright issue, and Ipresume that this does not have acheap solution, but DR-008 is fromthe same company, and I have fewgigs of DR-008 kits which I can't usewith Guru. It wouldn't hurt if NIBattery import was also included, butI really can't find any reason at all notto implement DR-008 support.Excepting that – everything is justperfect.

I don't have a 64-bit system, so Ican't tell you if it works with 64-bitsystems, but being an old piece ofsoftware, it really flies on currentmachines but works like a breeze onold computers, too.

I tested Guru on an old single-corelaptop and my dual-core workhorse. Ialso tested it in a presence of myolder son who likes it a lot.

By A. Arsov - the specialist for ancientFXpansion era.



PSP sQuad

Inspired by Analog

by David Keenum

PSP's sQuad is a bundle of 4 EQs. Rather thanbeing modeled after specific hardware units,sQuad is "inspired by the best features andcharacteristics of classic analog hardware." The 4EQs are: ClassicQ, ConsoleQ, preQursor, andRetroQ.Each has their own individual personality, yet theyall retain a vintage "flavor." And I would describethese EQs as "quick and easy."

Common Features

PSP introduced FAT, their double internal samplingoption, with Vintage Warmer 2. In sQuad FAT isautomatically enabled for sample rates below 50kHz. In addition, internal processing is at 64-bitdouble precision floating-point. Also, each of theEQs has a SAT, as in saturation option. But themost interesting feature, for me, is that the actualparameter settings are not completely accurate.The idea is to emulate analog EQs, and theirsettings are not completely accurate. So thesame holds true for sQuad. Personally, I didn’thave a problem with this feature. It was fun to bein a position to have to actually trust my ears.

ClassicQ

ClassicQ is based on “classic” British hardware equalizers. Itfeatures a high pass filter, a low filter with switchable frequencies,an adjustable mid filter with an adjustable “Q”, a high filter withswitchable frequencies, and a volume knob. In addition there is a

“sim” button to simulate Class A simulation, High Q buttons on thehigh and low Filters, and an Auto Q button on the mid filter. ThisEQ makes it easy to “twist” a knob, and it rewards you when youdo. I’m not a heavy EQ user, and I tend to cut rather than boost.But I’ve had fun with this EQ! It became my favorite of the 4, andyes, I boosted!

ConsoleQ

Remember the old Mackie ads for their mixing boards where theyalways mentioned that their EQs were copied from Britishconsoles? Well, the ConsoleQ looks nothing like a British console,but it functions like one. According to the .pdf manual, it is basedon British console EQs, with the AMEK consoles mentionedspecifically. Also from the manual: “The ConsoleQ is speciallydesigned for deep track tweaking to get the desired sound for atrack, or just to get great track separation in the mix.” And Ifound this to be true. It is perfect for a general track EQ.

ConsoleQ has a low pass filter and low, low mid, high mid, andhigh filter. The frequency is adjusted with the outer ring while theknob adjusts the cut or boost. My one complaint is that I foundthe outer ring hard to work. I couldn’t get it to work at times.With practice this got better. One other interesting fact aboutConsoleQ is “Q-factor.” Again from the manual: “… we designedPSP ConsoleQ’s midrange bell type filters so that they have gainfollowing Q factors. By this, we mean that the Q factor of thesefilters gradually increases along with increases in boost orattenuation.” This is also called a progressive Q. The more youboost or cut, the broader the filter. To round out the features isthe “Q Width Switch.” This switch selects the shape of the filter’sbell curve.

http://www.pspaudioware.com/


PSP sQuad

Creator: PSP (Professional Sound Projects)

Web-Site: http://www.pspaudioware.com/

Price: $249.00

Details: PSP sQuad is a bundle of four equalizer plug-ins. Theyare inspired by the best features and characteristics of classicanalog hardware.Formats: VST and RTAS for Windows; AudioUnit, RTAS, and VSTfor Mac OSX universal binary

Authorization/Registration: You can authorize PSP sQuad witha simple serial number, or you can authorize using iLok.Demo: 14 days

http://www.pspaudioware.com/


Minimum system requirements:Windows XP with ServicePack 2 or Vista,

- Intel or AMD processor (i386 architecture compatiblehigh performance CPU recommended)

- 512 MB RAM- VST or RTAS compatible host application,- ProTools TDM/LE 7.3 or later for running RTAS.Mac OSX 10.4 or 10.5 or later,- Intel Mac or PowerPC G4 or G5,- 512 MB RAM- AudioUnit, VST or RTAS compatible host application,- ProTools TDM/LE 7.3 or later for running RTAS.

Test Computer: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz, 4GB RAM,Windows XP Pro SP 3, Echo MiaMIDI Audio Card


PreQursor

According to the manual, preQursor was designed for use “onacoustic tracks, overall mixes, or any application in whichmaintaining the natural feel of the material is paramount.” All fourfilters are bell-type filters with progressive Q factors. You have achoice of three or four frequencies for all the filters except the LPF.For example The LMF (lo mid filter) gives you the choice of 200Hz,350 Hz, 500 Hz, or 900 Hz. For me, this was the most neutral ofthe collection, and although I have no arguments against it, Ididn’t use it that much. I found myself reaching for one of theother three.

RetroQ

RetroQ is based on Vintage Warmer’s filters, and it is a greataddition to this collection. RetroQ has to be the gentlest EQ I haveever used. Think subtle, smooth, and sweet. It doesn’t do deepcuts or boosts, or precise sculpting. But what it does, it doesnicely. I have never used an EQ like this, so I’m glad to see it inthis collection. Of course, this couldn’t be your only EQ.Sometimes you need a lot more boost or cut, or you may need anarrower Q. But this is a great option to have. According to themanual it was “optimized for use on groups and mixes,” and Iagree. I think it would even work well as an EQ on a bus or themaster.

Conclusions

If you like to use one or two EQs for all yourapplications, then sQuad may not be for you.Then again… using sQuad as your only EQ is aninteresting concept. Especially if you are the

“retro” Guerrilla (or is that Gorilla?!) type mixer,flying by the seat of his pants, and yelling, “Onlytrust your ears!” Sound familiar? Maybe not, butI can say that it has been fun using my ears. AndI can say that it’s taken a lot of the “work” out ofEQing, and brought back “knob twisting.” I’mliking “quick and easy.”

As far as the individual units go, I think ClassicQis worth the price of the whole collection. I foundmyself using it over and over. The RetroQ was alate favorite. I thought it didn’t do much until Itried in on a Rhodes track. That changed mymind immediately! I like how it sounds! I alsolike how the ConsoleQ sounds, but so far I’vefound it a little cumbersome. But it sounds good,so I’m willing to keep working on it. I guess thatputs preQursor in the “also ran” category. I don’tknow if that is fair. It sounds good, but the otherthree have caught my “fancy.” I will say thatpreQursor offers its own set of features andlimitations.

I want to add that I appreciate that PSP allowsyou a choice in how you authorize your plug-ins.You can authorize PSP sQuad with a simple serialnumber, or you can authorize using iLok. I likechoices. And I also want to give a nod to the .pdfmanual. It is concise and to the point, but itcovers everything.

There are many choices when it comes to EQs.So why would you choose one that forceslimitations on you? After I’ve spent some timewith sQuad, I’d say these limitations actuallyserved as a benefit for me. Most well-recordedtracks only need a small adjustment, andlimitations may keep you moving. That is a plusfor me. As Dirty Harry said, “A man’s gotta knowhis limitations.”

PSP sQuad

Improving by the minute.

Wusikstation

www.wusik.com

http://www.wusik.com


Image Line's

Gross Beatby Squibs

Image Line define Gross Beat as "a real-time, audio-streamplayback, pitch, position and volume manipulation effect. GrossBeat stores audio in a 2-bar rolling buffer controlled by 36 timeand 36 volume mapping envelopes for easy beat-synced glitch,stutter, repeat, scratching and gating effects." It all makesperfect sense right?

Okay, we're done….

...Well, perhaps it needs a little more explanation.

Anybody who has encountered an Image Line plugin in recenttimes will find the interface is a very familiar place. Lots ofgray gradients punctuated with occasional hints of pastelcolours give the UI a slightly brooding presence, but it's a niceplace to work and won’t scorch your retinas after 30 minutes

Image Line's Gross Beat


like some other garish plugins I canthink of using. Most of the screenreal estate is consumed by a largegrid, although usefully. The splineeditor can be hidden when you areworking with presets. Yes - this isanother one of Gol's spline basedplugins: you draw lines and curvesto manipulate the sound. Those whohave used the spline interface beforewill know that it provides completecontrol over the way in which youmanipulate the sound. Conversely, itdoes take pixel precision and a goodunderstanding of Bezier curves tomanipulate the lines to do yourbidding. If you don't have time tospend on such activities, then youhave two options: 1) You canaudition the generous selection ofpresets and tweak the closest match,or 2) You can use the spline editoras your own personal etch-a-sketchto create sonic mayhem. If the latterseems like too much work there's acreate sequence option with arandomiser that can do the samething with one click, and it generatesinspiring ideas.

So how does it all work? Well, thereare two parts to the plugin: thevolume editor and the pitch editor.Both use the same interface.Usefully, the volume spline is visiblewhen manipulating pitch, and viceversa. Let's start with the volumeeditor, as volume manipulation iseasier to understand, and will allowus to work through the interfacecontrols before we move on to timetraveling. In the volume view, weplot time on the x axis and volumeon the y axis, so a straight linerunning from the bottom left to thetop right produces a linear volumeswell. The presets feature a numberof regular 1/4 and 1/8 sequencedgates--where the editor looks likethe Manhattan skyline. There aretremolo effects using a sine wavepattern. There are also some trancegates with a more interestingrhythmic makeup, and then thingsget freaky. Because you can drawany line or curve that isn't movingleft (which would be back in time),you can create all sorts of volume-based effects. A nifty trick is tomake the lead in and lead out


gradual, using curves and/or non-90degree angles. You basically use thelines to draw your own multi-stepADSR envelope. It's time consuming,but it's the way forward when onlyperfection will do!

Once you've drawn your basic shape,the manipulation tools to the left ofthe spline editor will allow you toperform further transformations onyour spline. You can flip the entireshape vertically, scale, smooth andnormalise the spline, or analyze theaudio file. This last option creates aspline based on the volume envelope,and can be invaluable as a startingpoint for your volume edits. It acts asa crude representation of thewaveform amplitude so you canvisualise your volume edits withrespect to the waveform. There arealso snap controls to help constrainyour control point editing. Last, butnot least, is the envelope sequencer,which allows you to quickly draw a1-step to a 32-step sequence for theattack, decay, sustain and release ofeach step in the sequencer.

The time editor, as mentioned usesthe same interface, but it is trickier tounderstand. Bear in mind, gentlereader, that I get a headache when

Stephen Hawking is mentioned inpolite company, and I generallyhave to have a little lie-down ifrelativity comes up inconversation. I am not, inessence, Doctor Who material.The editor shows time runningfrom left to right with pitch on they axis. A horizontal linerepresents audio running at100% speed. A reference lineruns diagonally down the grid,ending 4 units across and 4 unitsdown. If your line runs along thisreference line, you hear nothing:Time has stopped! If you increasethe angle so that the line runs 4 unitsacross but more than 4 units down,then you are in reverse territory. Onceyou've played with the presets it allstarts to make sense.

Right angles tend to generatestuttering effects, alternating curvessound like vinyl scratching andexcessive time manipulation soundslike Darth Vader eating Alvin theChipmunk. Pitch shifting can beaccomplished using a repeatingreverse sawtooth pattern inconjunction with volume ducking onthe transients to mask clicks. Youcould also, given enough time,manipulate the ones and zeros in the

wave file to achieve the same pitchbend effect. I'm not advocating theuse of either for musical pitch shiftingor correction. Gross Beat's pitchshifting is cheap and cheerful fun,with no formant preservation or extrabaggage. For instant fun, you canmap the time offset control to a MIDIcontroller, allowing you to scratchwith a fader or knob.

Each preset lives in a slot, and eachpreset bank has 36 slots for time and36 slots for volume. Slot selection canbe linked to a MIDI controller, so thisplugin would be perfect for a DJ,although on a couple of occasions I

Image Line's

Gross Beat


AskDoctorJack

Is there a way to use 32-bit VSTs with 64-bitWindows Vista?

Yes, there's a way. Somehosts like SONAR even comewith a tool for this. I knowsome users that are usingWusik Station with SONAR 64without problems. But, ifyour 64-bit host doesn't comewith any 32-bit to 64-bitwrapper, there's a free tool tohelp you out with yourproblem. Check out jBridge atthe following link.http://jstuff.wordpress.com/

I need to get a newcomputer, should I beworried about Vista?

I can't really say if you shouldbe worried about it or not.From what I've seen, thereare a lot of people using it,and running their DAWswithout problems. Thoughpersonally, I think Vista isbloated, and requires a muchbetter machine to run itcompared to a computerrunning the latest version ofXP. When I got my newnotebook, I decided to go withVista and couldn't stand it, soI bought a new XP license andinstalled it. Lucky me,because just a month afterthat, Microsoft would nolonger sell those XP licenses.Still, XP won't be supportedforever so there will be a timewhen I will be forced to goVista or Windows 7--even if Idon't want to. In any case,there are a lot of sites aroundthe net with advice on how tomake Vista run faster. I'llhave to visit them just like Ihad to do with my very firstXP install.

Should I care for a widescreen monitor instead ofusing 2 monitors?

That depends on whether ithas a resolution of at least1024 in heighth. It wouldactually help you out, as youcould have more windowsopen in the same screen.Using 2 monitors is nice, but awide screen unit is better; asyou don't get that “line” in themiddle of both monitors whenyou want to use a very wideprogram running on bothscreens.

Should I connect my DAWto the Internet and keep itconnected when I'mcomposing?

If you are using good softwareto protect your computer, Idon't see why not. I use ZoneLabs's Internet Protection,which is not expensive. Thereare free alternatives like AVG,but I like Zone Lab's solutionsince it comes with everythingI need: a very good Firewall,Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware andother small tools. Also, thememory/resources foot printis very small. Just keep inmind that if you keep yourcomputer connected whilecomposing, Windows Updateor some other type ofautomatically updatingsoftware could compromisethe computer's performance;so it's best to disconnect whilecomposing.

Ask Doctor Jack

found that the plugin didn’t follow mypreset change.

In short, this is an excellent tool forprecision pitch and volume control forcreative effects. It works best in adance/electronic setting, but I can also seeit being a valuable tool in the arsenal of asound designer. The solid set of factorypresets illustrates the plugin’s capabilitiesvery well, and will provide the buddingaudio mangler with a starting point fortheir own sonic alchemy. At $99, it isn'tquite an impulse purchase, but if you aresearching for a dance-friendly pitch/timemanipulator, I think that this is the one togo for purchasing.


Sanford Reverb v2.0.1by David Keenum

I hadn’t heard of Leslie Sanford until I noticed his softwaresynthesizer, Cobalt(http://www.lesliesanford.com/Cobalt.shtml) that is basedon the analog/digital hybrid synthesizers of the early1980s. The success of Cobalt was followed by severalother innovative music software applications. Leslie hasdeveloped a reputation for being a developer who is easilyaccessible and quick to offer updates. Since that remindsme of my favorite developer (cue wink), I was eager toreview the Sanford Reverb.

Details

Besides being inexpensive, the first thing you will noticeabout the Sanford Reverb is that it is a true stereo reverb.You won’t see the terms inexpensive and true stereo usedtogether very often, but (at least in this case) it’s accurate.You see, most reverbs sum the stereo signal to mono, andthen process the mono. A true stereo reverb allows youto retain your panning position, even in the reverb. Andthat gives a more accurate representation of how a realroom would sound.

Sanford Reverb v2.0.1


The second unusual aspect you’ll see is the individualcontrol over early reflections. You can find thisfeature on other reverbs, but not generally on themain page. Early reflections are important tosimulations of ambience, and some instrumentsbenefit from early reflections – high hats come tomind.

There is also a filter section (HP and LP filters), afreeze switch (it freezes the reverb’s buffer), and amodulation section to add motion to the reverb’s tail.So, all in all, this a full-featured effect, but how doesit sound? In a word, great! But wait, I’m gettingahead of myself. Let’s do this systematically.

Impressions

I compared the Sanford Reverb to IK Multimedia’sCSR Room, Cakewalk’s Sonitus Reverb, and Anwida’sSoft DX Reverb. Why did I pick those reverbs? Well,those are the reverbs I use. I guess it’s not veryglamorous, but at least I know these reverbs. So Iloaded up the four reverbs, matched their settings asclose as possible, and ran duplicate tracks throughthem. I tried to make it as scientific a comparison aspossible, but in the end, it came down to opinion.And my opinion is that the Sanford reverb soundsgreat!

To my ears, the Sanford Reverb compares favorablyto the other 3 reverbs, even the much moreexpensive CSR. They all sound different, so it’s hardfor me to judge one better. But let me try to makesome comparisons. The CSR Room had more density.The Sonitus reverb had less. In fact the Sonitus wasthe thinnest of the reverbs, but it still sounds nice ina track. I felt the Sanford Reverb and the AnwidaReverb sounded similar, with the Anwida being alittle brighter. In a mix, all four of these reverbssounded really good. For me, the Sanford Reverbcomplemented the other 3 reverbs.

Conclusions

For me, the best reverb is the reverb I don’t hear. Iwant it to make the track sit in the mix without beingnoticed. The Sanford Reverb does that for me. Itenhances a track without drawing attention to itself.I really like the sound of the Sanford Reverb. In fact,it’s been on a reverb send for every track I’ve donesince I downloaded it. I must say that I wassurprised and impressed by this $35.00 reverb.

Sanford Reverb v2.0.1

Creator and Distributor: Leslie Sanford

Web-Site: http://www.lesliesanford.com/index.shtml

Price: $35 USD

Details:

The Sanford Reverb is a true stereo reverbA set of 3 independent early reflections on each channelFreezeA filter sectionDampingModulation

Demo: A demo is available. It has a nag screen thatappears when you first run it. After 20 minutes, theeffect stops, passing the original signal throughunaffected.

Formats: VST Windows only

Test Computer: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz, 4 GBRAM, Windows XP Pro SP 3, Echo MiaMIDI Audio Card


Tonehammer Goes SFZ!by David Keenum

A review of Tonehammer’s Epic Toms Ensembleand Rust II – “Epic Iron”

Tonehammer Goes SFZ!

Did you feel the earth shake? Did

you hear the thunder? Yes,

Tonehammer released two of their

libraries in .sfz format! If you are a

Logic user, you’ll be glad to know

that they also released the same

libraries in EXS24 format. And you

may remember that Kontakt is the

main Tonehammer format. All three

formats are included in your

download. I played the Kontakt

version, and it is first-rate. But this

is WSM, as in Wusik, as in Wusik

Station, so around here we’re

excited about the .sfz release! Let’s

take a look at these two releases as

they sound in Wusik Station.


Epic Toms Ensemble

Epic Toms I was one of Tonehammer’sfirst releases, and it set the standardof what a Tonehammer release shouldbe. The new Epic Toms Ensemblecontains all of the original Epic Toms Iand II libraries, plus a new 600MBSolo Epic Bass Drum library. Inaddition there is a collection of newplayable ambiences and drones.According to the Tonehammer guys,there are “plenty of new features,source sample refinements, deepprogramming improvements andspecial custom patches.”

Epic Toms reminds me of the “StormDrum” sound that people ask for whenthey are looking for “impact.” Thesedrums contain lots of ambience andlots of attitude! Reach for these whenyou need some drums with a ‘tude!This, like all of Tonehammer’s libraries,is a focused collection and you getwhat the demos represent. There aresamples and patches for high and lowtoms, bass drum, and shouts. Thereare also lite versions of the high andlow toms and the bass drum.Included in the toms are Octabans,Roto Toms, Drum Stick clacks, and arack/floor tom set.

Rust Vol. II (Epic Iron)

Following in the footsteps of Rust I,Rust II is about metal, but Rust II isabout “heavy” metal! It “covers over81 different types of instruments fromgiant aluminum poles to metalbathtubs, from slamming blast doorsused as percussion instruments tomassive Hercules (nuclear missileholders) metal racks, from creakingcell doors to metal objects withoutnames, from massive metal stairs toslamming large tower rails.” Thelibrary also includes a collection ofsamples recorded at a sculpture park.

Rust II is not just another “junkyardpercussion” collection. When youlisten to the demos you’ll hear this.Some of these sounds can even beclassified as Foley or sound designsounds, and I think they would beeffective for those uses. But theycould also be used as intros, hits, andambiences in music. And darkambient composers could find somegreat sounds here! I would generallydescribe the sounds as dramatic,mysterious, and even scary. Can youimagine the sound of a preset namedBunker_Blast_Door_Creak_Latch?Creepy? Right! But the entire library

doesn’t sound that way. For example,any of the Sculpark presets can beplayed as “normal” percussion. Andthey have an interesting, useful sound.They just sound like metal percussion!

The “Owner’s Manual”

Both libraries come with a .pdfmanual that describes the library andits patches in detail. For me, it is agreat resource when I’m learning thelibrary. There is also some usefulinformation about the .sfz format andloading the sounds into Wusik Station,and there are also some veryinteresting pictures. Incidentally,there are also .mp3 interviews thatrelate to each library. They areinteresting and entertaining.

Loading .sfz files into WusikStation

The “manual” describes dragging anddropping .sfz files onto the GUI ofWusik Station. This worked flawlesslyfor me. The reason I say this isbecause I tried some other methods,and they didn’t work so well. I,obviously, don’t quite “get” .sfz


Tonehammer Goes SFZ!

format! But the drag and drop method worked. Ifound that I needed to increase the gain on someof the sounds and increase the release on theADSR for the complete sound to play even after Ilifted the key. After that I created presets.

I also had to update Wusik Station to the latestversion (5.8.4). I’m a little embarrassed to admitthat I, a writer for WSM, hadn’t kept up with theupdates --- if it’s stable and working smoothly, Iforget to update. But that’s fixed now. And itonly took a couple of crashes to alert me thatsomething was wrong! If you want to know alittle “insider information,” it seems thatTonehammer and WilliamK have been talking alittle, and version 5.8.4 of Wusik Station hassome developments that allow larger .sfz files.So the bottom line is that you can expect thatthese libraries will play in Wusik Station.

But how does it sound?

Both of these libraries retain their sound and feelin Wusik Station. I know there are some thingsthat Kontakt does that .sfz can’t replicate (likethe Toms of Doom Kontakt patch), but all in all,they sound just as good in Wusik Station. Andyou even get a couple of ambiences! It isobvious that some love and attention went intothe .sfz patches. Thank you Tonehammer!

Conclusions

I felt that Hardcore Harmonics’ PRIZM

http://www.hardcoreharmonics.com/documents/56.html

moved Wusik Station in a new direction. WusikStation could now be seriously considered forsoundtrack and music-to-picture work. The twoTonehammer libraries solidify that feeling for me.And besides that, both of these libraries aremonsters! They sound awesome! The future islooking bright for Tonehammer . . . and WusikStation!

http://www.tonehammer.com/



Rust II – “Epic Iron”and Epic Toms Ensemble

Creator and Distributor: Tonehammer

Web-Site: http://www.tonehammer.com/

Price: Epic Toms Ensemble $99.00 Rust II $79.00

Details:

Epic Toms Ensemble

- Bass Drum Ensemble: strikes, flams and looseflams, each with 7-10 velocity layers and10x round-robin

- Floor Tom Ensemble: strikes and flams, eachwith 7-10 velocity layers and 10x round-robin- Full ensemble: strikes, 8-9 velocity layers, 10xround-robin- Full ensemble: rim clicks, 5 velocity layers, 10xround-robin- 4 Octabans: strikes, 7-8 velocity layers, 10xround-robin- 3 roto toms: strikes, 9-10 velocity layers, 10xround-robin 11″, 12″ & 13″ rack/floor tom set: strikes, 78velocity layers, 10x round-robin- Drum Stick clacks: 7-8 velocity layers, 10xround-robin- Male vocal ensemble yells and shouting crescen-dos: each with 2 velocities and 10x round-robin- 4 custom sound-designed industrial percussionfx patches- Collection of convolution reverb impulses, cap-tured in our classic epic hall.

- Deeply sampled Solo Bass Drum, with 3 differ-ent stereo mic positions in two different epichalls. 15-22 velocity layers, 10x round robin- 6 unique playable ambient multitimbral dronesand morphing soundscapes, all created fromEpic Toms source material.- 28 Kontakt patches and multis- 10 exs24 patches- 11 sfz patches- 2478 samples, 1.48 GB installed, 500 MB .rardownload

Rust II- 9 main instrument Categories

o Aluminastic (Cylindrum variation)o Bombay Bathtubo Bunker Sessionso Lockdowno Metal Thingso Metal Sculpture Gardeno Steps to Heaveno Tower Railso Ambiences- 3.118 samples, 2.56 GB installed, 1.1 GB .rar

download- 81 Kontakt patches (.nki), 69 SFZ patches(.sfz), 56 EXS24 patches (.exs)

Sample Resolution: 44.1 kHz/16-Bit stereoWAV format

Formats: Native Instruments Kontakt 2.2.4 / 3(the full retail version of Kontakt is required),EXS24, and SFZ

Test Computer: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz,4 GB RAM, Windows XP Pro SP 3, Echo MiaMIDIAudio Card.

http://www.tonehammer.com/



SonnoxEssentialBundle

Sonnox is a well known firm in the VST world. TheirOxford plug-ins are frequently used among bunches ofproducing professionals. My dear fellows, with all due respect,since you are reading this, I could freely suspect that you are not one ofthem. Wusik Sound Magazine is a webzine mainly designed for hobbyand semi-pro musicians. Somehow, I presume that fancy professionalsspend their valuable time enjoying Playboy magazine or such literatureas that, rather than reading some semi-known (yet, exceedinglyexcellent) virtual magazine written about virtual instruments, andoffering pictures of almost naked ladies only when some of the writers(usually me) insinuate about them and that is just to get you a moreclear picture of the qualities of the represented instruments or effects.

by A. Arsov

Sonnox Essential Bundle


Sonnox against all odds

Essential Bundle contains Oxford EQ, OxfordDynamics, Oxford Reverb and Oxford SuprEsser.Four of them bundled under the common price of966 US Dollars or 685 Euro, but before you startjudging them, let's give them a fair trial. We can'tafford a "hung jury" in this courthouse.

All arise – the Oxford EQ

It is five-band parametric EQ based on an OXF-R3equaliser. The first thing you'll notice is that theOxford EQ is not just an equaliser, but that it alsohas some filtering functionality under the same roof.Yes, I know, equalisation means filtering out oradding some frequencies, but when you start usingit, you will soon spot the difference. It lies inserviceability. All in all, I noticed from the first daythat I got this bundle that all Sonnox plug-ins standout on two main points: one is the sound--I knowit's a pretty abstract term, but in the case of thisequaliser it proves itself in a way that you don't getunnatural sound as soon as you cut or boost it morethan a few decibels--and secondly--the ease of use;everything is so handy and user friendly, so that youdon't need a PhD to achieve good results. Listen,when you are in the middle of the creative workingprocess, the last thing on earth you need is acomplicated tool to break your flow and get youaway from the process of creating.

Time is money. So, here lies that extra fee thatSonnox charges. With Oxford EQ you can fix andmix fast and easily. The thing I like the most aboutOxford EQ is its usability to cut or boost frequenciesmore steeply than with most other equalisers. Also,if someone were to ask me to describe this EQ with

just one sentence, then it would be: The Ideal Toolfor Getting Natural Sounds with Unnatural Settings.Wow, they should pay me for that sentence!

Oxford Dynamic

In short, this one should be a role model for allcompressors. Everything is neatly arranged andeasily within reach. It serves as a compressor,limiter, gate or expander. The top window containsall essential controls. At the bottom left part there isa row of buttons for adding or switching betweendifferent functions: gate, expander, compress,limiter, side-chain eq and warmth. No matter thatthere seems to be a whole bunch of controls tohandle, I find that it is extra easy to get good resultswith Oxford Dynamics. Ignore what you don't needand tweak what you think you will need and in aminute you'll be there.

The knob that I liked mostly was the one whichdoesn't necessarily have anything to do withdynamics -- the warmth button. Basically, it appearsto be some sort of tube emulation and it works! It'sa nice and sweet addition to the sound, and no, Idon't use it all the time. I use it mostly with mainsynth lines or with guitar parts, because using it ona every track will spoil the arrangement making it abit muddy and over-cooked. As you may have heard,when an overweight lady asks for your opinion,about her weight, there is only one right answer:

“There is never enough of beauty.” It is nice, but notso true. "Punch" and weight have something incommon: too much is sometimes simply too much.Okay, let's get back on topic. As I have already said:this compressor should be a role model for allcompressors (repetition is the mother of erudition.)

Being pro or not, the fact is that all Oxford plug-ins are prettypricey and for that reason a bit out of the average hobbyprice range. So, I've decided not to write an habitual reviewexplaining things we all already know. I thought that it wouldbe far more appropriate if I can find and represent to youwhat is so special with all the included effects in this bundle,and how different they are from the competition so as todeserve such a respectable price and such renown.


Oxford Reverb

A good sounding reverb with plenty of controllersfor two parts which are usually the weakest onmost software reverbs: tails and early reflections.Also, there's another special addition comparedwith most of the other reverbs on the market:there is a five-band equaliser along with a sectioncontaining a few extra controls for mixing the tailend with the processed signal.

There are plenty of reverbs on the market, and thisone is aimed for those producers who really knowwhat are they doing. I'm afraid that I'm not one ofthose, but most of the professional producers fromthe big studios are the right ones (at least Ipresume that they know what they are doing). As Itold you, these are specialised tools forprofessionals. You can carry on without extraknowledge driving the Oxford Dynamic and Eq, butwith the Reverb I've reached my limit using mybeloved monkey approach – tweak, tweak and weshould see what will happen. Nope, it won't workthat way for me...not this time. So, it is a cool toolfor the pros or perhaps someone who really knowstheir reverbs. If you are – go for it, if you are not,you can try your luck anyway. It is a SonnoxOxford effect, so you can't really go wrong.

Oxford Supresser

Most third party de-essers are good, as long asthey're solving the problems for which they aredirectly aimed at, but as soon as they reach aproblematical area, a non-typical frequency rangeof sibilance, then it is the time for Super De-esser:The Oxford SuprEsser. With an FFT display andwith three different listening modes: mix, inside,outside; it is not hard to find sibilance notes andto reduce them with the frequency specificcompressor. It does its job excellently withoutadding anything to the processed sound. That isnot always the case with some other third partyde-essers.

All Arise -- Judge ArsovFinal judges

The Sonnox Oxford effects are not cheap, but ifyour last bank robbery was the successfully one, Ireally suggest that you spend some extra moneyon this bundle. Friends and call girls will leave youas soon as your hard robbed money drains out, but

Sonnox Essential Bundle


Contains:Oxford EQ, Oxford Dynamics, Oxford Reverb, and Oxford SuprEsser

Native: £571 / $966 / €685 (approx.)Pro Tools HD: £1,222 / $2,072 / €1,470 (approx.)PowerCore:£781 / $1,323 / €940 (approx.)

good sound will remain for ever. And secondly, youcan't compete in a Formula 1 race with your oldstreet car; so if you are serious about your music,than these tools are the right tools for you; theyare essential. With this Oxford bundle you willreach professional results without using and losingtoo much time doing it and with the decentknowledge that they will bring you where yourimagination leads you. There again, lies the secretof that extra cost. Sometimes less is more, youdon't need a zillion controls, the point is to find theright ones which are essential for the task. It is notso easy to make simple but effective tools,thankfully Sonnox did it.

With these tools and a bit of a luck, maybe therewill come a time for your ordering your Playboysubscription and cancelling the Wusik subscriptionat the same time. We are not selfish, we wish yougood luck and just ask you for a small favour:please provide us a phone number, or two, fromthose misbehaving ladies in your new favouritemagazine. You Pro, You!!! Grroowwl.

By A. Arsov – almost pro.

Get Your Wusik Membership Today

http://www.subscribe.wusik.com

and Download This Magazine in High-Quality PDF Formatplus, a Full Copy of Wusikstation and Tons of Sounds

Visit: www.subscribe.wusik.com

http://www.subscribe.wusik.com


Soundware Round-Upby Ginno Legaspi

Blue ZoneBiosphere

Biosphere is a collection of massive-sounding atmospheres, tortured drumloops, scary effects and unusualpercussion sounds from Blue Zone.This library fits those wanting to addimaginative sounds for their TV, film,and game-music production. Many ofthe sounds on this disc provokeimages of someone being abducted byaliens; their body being experimentedon inside a biodome or an oddspaceship. The selection of sounds aregreat, and it's guaranteed to get yourcreative juices flowing. Biosphere isdivided into several folders with morethan 500 files for your samplingpleasure. After a quick audition in

Sony's Acid Pro, I find the folderscalled "ATM" and "ATM BIOLAB" veryinspiring. They would make a goodcompanion for soundtrackcompositions or writing music for sci-fifilm.

If your studio's library collection hasroom for more sampling discs, andyou're a nut for atmospheric soundsthen this library is worth getting. Theonly drawback is that it's a bit pricey.

CONTACTS:www.bluezone.fr

FORMAT:- WAV files- 44.1khz/16-bit format

LIST PRICE:79.00€ all inclusive tax, 66.05€ net

of tax

LoopmastersMarshall Jefferson: HouseGeneration

Marshall Jefferson's House Generationis a collection of 1.2 GB samplesready to inspire classic as well asfuture house producers. This librarymainly focuses on the old schoolhouse sound that Marshall himself isconsidered the expert. The samplesare so diverse - thanks to Marshall'sclose friends who recorded a greatselection of loops for him. The lineupof house luminaries who offered theirservices for him includes Byron

Stingly and Paris Brightledge onvocals, Chris 'Bam Bam' Westbrookrecorded the guitars, Louie Louie wasin charge of the percussion, Ed Funkon drums, Sherman Burks and RobCrawford on keyboard loops. In the

"real instrument" folder, the selectionof house strings and brass areawesome. Again, Marshall hired theservices of Orbert Davis in capturingthese beautiful sounds. The rest of thesamples were recorded, programmedand edited by Jefferson himself. Justlike the other Artist Series fromLoopmasters, House Generation isavailable in different audio andsampler formats.

CONTACTS:www.loopmasters.com

Soundware Round-Up

http://www.bluezone.fr

http://www.loopmasters.com

http://www.soundsonline.com


FORMAT: - 1.2 GB DVD - 1360 Acidised WAV Samples, 557RMX friendly Rex2 Loops, 579 AppleLoops, Full Reason ReFill 147 Patches for Reason,Kontakt, Halion, EXS24, Emulator X2,Ableton Live.

LIST PRICE: - £39.95, (also available asdownload)

Zero-G SoundSenseElektrolytic, Old Skool House, andGrime Scene

The Sound Sense Series are samplelibraries from Zero-G that offer largeamounts of sampling material that isgeared to provide cost-consciousmusic producers a good set of qualitysounds. There are plenty of budgetsample libraries out there on themarket but you get so much more foryour money from this series. EachDVD is shipped in multiple-formats ofAcid WAV, AIFF Apple loops, Stylus-style RMX and Rex2 files compatiblefor both PC and Mac. The samples areneatly organized infolders. Most of themhave construction kitsavailable, and the 'one-shot' samples includedmakes SoundSense agood buy. Havingreviewed the first sixZero-G Sound Sensevolumes, it only makesense to review the rest.So for this month it'sElektrolytic, Old SkoolHouse, and GrimeScene.

Elektrolytic is IanBoddy's secondSoundSense release.This library is morefocused on torturedgrooves and mangledbeats compared toAmbiosis, his last one,which is pretty much

ambient and atmospheric oriented.You'll find 250 drum loops and 250one-shot samples of leftfield beats,loops and percussive sounds that aresuitable for ambient, IDM, glitch, andexperimental electronica. The audioquality is great - thanks to the 24-bitformat delivery, and Boddy'sprogramming is top notch. For sure,experimental composers will beextremely pleased with this 'edgy'library's content.

Old Skool House is a collection ofsounds from the era that spawnedclassic house music. We're talking80's here...but in a good way.Although this DVD sounds cheesy andso er...80's, it surprised me that thereare some very useful samples on thisdisc. You'll find all the classic sounds,such as Roland drum sounds, dancepianos, stabs, funky riffs and manymore. I'm actually liking this library alot because it reminds me of my youth.It is refreshing to know that Zero-Gtries to revive that old school houseflavor with this very inspiring library.

Finally, we have Grime Scene - 500MB of the freshest hip-hop and grimesounds. This library is overflowing

with content that will burn up anyurban productions. The samplesincluded on this disc are so spot-onand authentic to the grime genre.Although not a one-stop shop for allhip-hop and urban productions, youcan incorporate some of the soundsfor Ragga, Reggae, Grime and evenDubstep. To get you started, sevenconstruction kits are included on thislibrary, with tempos ranging from135-140 bpm. I love the constructionkits called "The Hoodrat" and "DaSuspects" because it showcases whatthis library is really made of: dirtybeats to growling basses, big clashsounds to grimy strings; this packagehas it all.

CONTACTS:www.soundsonline.com

FORMAT: - Acid WAV, Aiff Apple Loops, StylusRMX and Rex2 - 500 MB-1 GB of new sounds - 44.1 kHz/24-bit format

LIST PRICE: $59.95





Soundware Round-Up

Sample MagicTech-Funk Breaks

Man, those crazy, hardworking chaps at SampleMagic are always at it. Theyjust can't stop cooking upnew, fresh-soundinglibraries for the masses.This time, though, they'reback with anotherelectronic sub-genrepackage called Tech-FunkBreaks. It's always nice tosee Sample Magic releasingelectronic-specific genrelibraries. Tech-Funk Breaksis produced by SimonCarter (Crystal Distortion)and Steve Young (no, notthe 49ers Hall of Famequarterback, but from Hedflux fame),and offers samples for electro, breaks,nu-skool, dubsteb and breaks. As withother Sample Magic titles, this libraryhas more than 800 MB of samples in44.1Khz/24-bit format, and temporanges from 125-140 bpm.

After a quick audition of the DVD Ifound that there are heaps of material,deliciously raw and full of dirt. Thebass folder has some downright nastysounds in the library I've reviewed.And the drum loops sound fierce. Theyhave that certain bite in them. Thereare just too many royalty-freesamples in this library to mention, butfor the curious, here's what's includedin this collection.

a) Drums - 300+ deep fried, glitched-out, ball-busting breaks, beats andtops. Guaranteed dancefloor mayhem.

b) Bass - Bit-reduced bin-blitzers,cone-creaking monoruns andscreaming all-analogue funklines.c) Synths - Circuit bent acid riffs,chaotic sawfests and seductive pads -

allkey named for

your convenience.d) Voxmash - Up-to-the-momentvocal mash-ups; sliced, diced andrecycled. 100% copyright clear.e) Combis - Unique song starters andpared down musical elements to beused, bruised and abused.

f) More - Scratches, fills, booms,sweeps, dives and a painstakinglyselected single-hit drum archive.

CONTACTS:www.samplemagic.comwww.soundstosample.com

FORMAT: - 2.29 GB CD/DVD multipack (2,454files), includes Audio, 24-bit WAV's(891 MB, 796 files), Stylus RMXcompatible Rex files (361 MB, 476files), Apple Loops (534 MB, 476 files)plus EXS24, Reason NNXT, Kontakt IIand Halion patches.

LIST PRICE: £58.67 DVD/CD, £49.95(download from SoundToSample)

Philtre LabsBollywood Grooves

There have been many Indianpercussion sample libraries introducedbefore, but Philtre Labs offers aunique approach amongst librariesaiming for that big Bollywood sound.

Bollywood Grooves, their first everrelease, features Indian percussioninstruments such as dhol, tabla, duff,dholak, ghunghroo-tabla and dholak-tabla. The 2 GB of loops are offered in48kHz/24bit WAV, Apple AIFF loopsand REX format. The samples wererecorded and assembled at StudioBlue in Mumbai by the seasonedproduction team of Salim andSulaiman Merchant. BollywoodGrooves contains 700+ rhythmic loopswith tempos ranging from 74 bpm to135 bpm. Philtre Labs claims that thisis the first library to showcase

http://www.samplemagic.com

http://www.soundstosample.com

http://www.bigfishaudio.com

http://www.philtrelabs.com



percussion"ensembles andsections" -styles whichare typicallyfound in filmsof the genre.

Navigating andauditioning theDVD is such abreeze becausethe loops areneatlyorganized intointros, fills andendingscategories. I was surprised howprecise the looping on the samples is(seamless), and the editing is justexcellent. Every sample boasts highquality with just the right amount ofroom ambience. I particularly like the'dhol' and 'ghunghroo-tabla' groovesfolders because they have thatappropriate dose of swagger to spiceup an Indian-influenced electronicatrack.

With all of that being said, BollywoodGrooves is an instant percussionlibrary classic. If you don't have it yet,I would recommend adding this toyour sample library collection.

CONTACT:www.bigfishaudio.comwww.philtrelabs.com

FORMAT: - ACID/WAV/REX2 - 44.1 kHz/16-bit format - Free EXS version after registration

LIST PRICE: $99.95

LoopmastersJoey Youngman:Jacked OutFuture House

Joey Youngman'sJacked Out FutureHouse is anotherlibrary fromLoopmaster's ArtistSeries. It featuresmore than 1,000samples that coverevery differentformat available

(WAV, Apple Aiff loops, Rex2, ReasonReFill, HALion, Kontakt, Live Pack,Dimension, Rapture, NNXT, EXS24and EMU X2). All loops and one-shotsare organized neatly according to theirkey and tempo (126-130 bpm).

According to Joey on the DVD sleeve,Jacked Out Future House was createdto inspire producers looking to makehouse tracks, and that anybodywanting to produce music will usethese loops and sounds to accent asound that is their own, uniquecreation. The samples themselves arevery original, and Joey has stampedthis library with his own distinctsound: bumpy, funky filteredbasslines and dirty disco-influenceddrums. I think most people will findthe drum loops useful in theirproductions but I really enjoyedauditioning the 20 'clean-sounding'funky guitar loops folder. It wouldhave been super if there was moreguitar loops included on this library,but other than that, Jacked Out FutureHouse sounds great and is packedwith excellent material.

CONTACT:

www.loopmasters.com

FORMAT: - 1.5 GB DVD - Acidised WAV, Stylus RMX, Rex2,Aiff Apple loops, Reason ReFill - Patches for Reason, Kontakt,Halion, EXS24, Emulator X2 andAbleton Live

LIST PRICE: - £39.95 (also available asdownload)

Best ServiceSynthation Producer's CollectionVol. 2

This is Synthation.Net's secondProducer Collection release, and itpretty much picked up where the last







Soundware Round-Up

one left off. SPC Vol. 2 is a multi-format library that includes AcidisedWAV, Apple Aiff loops, Rex2 andsampler patches for Kontakt, EXS24,Battery and Halion. The content ismostly geared for producers ofelectro-house, tech-house andminimal, but the fresh 350 loops (allin 128 bpm) can be used significantlyfor other electronic genre productions.If you need to cook up your own loops,more than 1000 single-hits are alsoprovided. The variety of single soundis insane. For example, the 'Kick'folder offers plenty of samples. It hasbeen broken down into three sub-folders called 'Strong', 'Medium' and'Soft'. And each folders have 122, 61,and 48 sounds respectively. The'Snare' folder doesn't skimp either asthere are 117 samples included.Meanwhile, percussion aficionados willbe happy that this library has tons ofcongos, cowbell, minimal, rim, tonal,various and weird sounds to play with.These alone are worth the admissionprice of this sample library.

If you love electronica, and arelooking to beef up your sample librarycollection, SPC Vol. 2 is a true gem forevery electro-house and minimalproducer.

CONTACT:www.soundsonline.com

FORMAT: WAV files, 44.1khz/16-bit with pre-mapped software sampler patches

LIST PRICE: $117.00

Blue ZoneOverload

When Overload (from Blue ZoneCorp.) arrived at my review desk, Iwas excited to open it because BlueZone makes good sampling materials,and they have a lot of potential tosucceed in the sampling market. Butwhen I opened the box, there wasreally wasn't much information toread as to what Overload is all about:No product details, no liner notes. Buthey, who needs those when your goalis to write about the content, right

So, I went ahead and dove in rightaway. I found out that this library ischock full of hardcore techno sounds.This is definitely notfor softies or the faintof heart. But, if youwant the hard stuff,then this is right upyour alley. Overloadincludes drum loops,single drum hits,various misc hits,single-shot synthsounds, harsh-but-useful atmosphericsamples and loads ofFX sounds. Thesamples come in44.1kHz/16-bit high-quality WAV's.

Those who want plentyof one-shot drumsounds will be glad toknow that Blue Zoneincluded many ofthem. In fact, thereare nearly 600samples in the bassdrum folders alone.That's too much for a

single sound but who in this agedoesn't want lots of choices. Havingdifferent varieties of sounds and beingable to pick the suitable one for theright song is very convenient. Andthat's what this library is allabout...variety.

CONTACT:www.bluezone.fr

FORMAT: - WAV files - 44.1khz/16-bit format

LIST PRICE:

98.00€ all inclusive tax, 81.94€ netof tax




http://www.discoverysound.com


Best ServiceReggaeton Meets Dancehall Vol. 1

Audio Bomb/Best Service spices upthe sampling world with ReggaetonMeets Dancehall Vol. 1. If you're intoproducing reggaeton and dancehallthen you might want to take a look atthis library. It contains the usualelements/construction kits for bothgenre, loaded with island-music style.RMD Vol. 1 is delivered in 16-bit/44.1kHz Acidised Wave, Rex2, NN-XT, Soundfont and HALion formats.Both styles break into two folders thatinclude 15 construction kits each, withtempos ranging from 94 to 115 bpm.Each construction kit folder comeswith a mix-down file along withindividual loops like drums,percussions, keys, bass, etc. Single-shot instrument and drum hits arealso provided if you want to constructyour own loops from scratch. Thesounds on these discs are so welllabeled, in detail, that the producers

even included the name of thesynths used to create thesounds/loops. Now, that's cool.

Although some of the sampleshave that synthetic feel, there aresome really nice gems included inthis library: like the punchy drumsounds and the groovy acousticguitars. The ethnic hits andpercussions are also a goodaddition. Effects sounds areaplenty and the fat basses soundtight and crunchy. Overall, this is avery flavorful release and shouldbe an indispensable library toprofessional music producers.

CONTACT:www.soundsonline.com

FORMAT: - Acid WAV, Rex2, Soundfont,NN-XT and HALion - 30 construction kits and extraAcidised WAV loops - 44.1 kHz/16-bit format

LIST PRICE: $130

Discovery SoundAlma Flamenco

Flamenco is one of the most popularstyles of music in the world. This isdue to the constant upbeat rhythmsand infectious melodies itbrings. Like most Spanishand Latin music, flamencoimpacts listeners with awhole new emotionalexperience, enlivens theirsouls and encouragesthem to stand up anddance. Discovery Firmhopes to give the sameinspiration to flamencoproducers with AlmaFlamenco sample CD.

AF is a library full ofauthentic sounds that willspice up your flamenco

productions - think of it as cayenne orhabanero pepper ready to 'fuego' upyour tracks. This 2-disc packageincludes 600 Acid/WAV files, 342 Rex2(loops only) and an audio CD for quickauditioning. The guitar loops are thestars here and there are plenty to playaround. The guitar folder is subdividedinto four categories of Backing, Mute,Lead and Samples. The loops aregood, and I must say that theperformances are captured beautifully(the recording and the Madrid locationhas influenced the making), especiallythe group of 'Gt Picado' loops.

Rounding out this library are someinspiring bongo, cajon, castanuela,palma, snaps and taconeo loops andone-shots. And finally, some vocalloops (male, female, group) thatsound deeply rooted in Andalusianflavor, which gives the finishingtouches.

CONTACT:www.discoverysound.com

FORMAT: - ACID/WAV/REX2 - Audio CD for auditioning - 44.1 kHz/16-bit format

LIST PRICE: $55






Soundware Round-Up

Philtre LabsBollywood Elements

With the success of theBollywood Grooves library undertheir belt, this latest collectionfrom Indian samplesmithsPhiltre Labs features brand newmaterial--over 1.3 GB of sampledata of traditional Indianinstruments. Compared to thepercussion-oriented BollywoodGrooves, this time, BollywoodElements is an all-melodic loopsaffair. The content of this DVD isbroken down into differentfolders that include single-shots,raga phrases, effects and ofcourse, loops. The samplescome in high-quality, 48kHz/24-bit WAV and Apple Aiff loopsformat.

For producers (TV jingles, filmscores, remixes, Eastern-infusedsongs, game soundtracks andmore) wanting to add spice totheir tracks, more than 1,000elegantly performed loops from anarray of exotic and traditional Indianinstruments are accessible. Theinstruments sampled here includebulbul tarang, flute, mandolin, sarangi,sarod, shehnai, sitar, ravan-hattha,tumbi and shankh. And each of themhave been carefully recorded atvarious scales and tempos to giveeach one its own unique sound andcharacter. I was floored with theauthenticity of this collection and thesamples sound so genuine withenough modern touch to sparkle. Ofcourse, it doesn't hurt to hire well-seasoned musicians and facilitatethem in a state-of-the-art studio for aproject with this caliber. Overall, I likeBollywood Elements and can't wait forthe next Philtre Labs release.

CONTACT:www.bigfishaudio.comwww.philtrelabs.com

FORMAT: - ACID/WAV - 48 kHz/24-bit format

LIST PRICE: $99.95

Discovery Sound8-Bit Family

This library is the sequel to DiscoverySound's 2003 popular release, butfeatures even more impressivecontent. 8-Bit Family 2 is an odysseyinto the lo-fi realm that featuresquirky sounds inspired by gamingsystems of the 70's and 80's. If youlike lo-fi Nintendo, Commodore, Atari,

Casio and other 8-bit bleeps then thislibrary is for you. The CD coverreminds me of my good ol' SuperMario game back in the day, but that'sonly one half of the fun. The materialon the CD-Rom includes bass loops(45 files), drum loops (50 files), synth(74 files), sine (27 files), mix loops(55 files) and a few of synth, vox,noise and effects loops. All sound fileson this collection are presented instandard audio format of 44.1kHz/16-bit and sampler files are accessible viaKontakt, Battery and Reason 3.04 andhigher.

Well, what can I say. I loved thematerials on this library the moment Iauditioned them in Acid. The bassloops are ready-to-go if you'reproducing chip tunes. If yourprogrammed drums need that certain

"lo-fi charm" you can slap some thedrums loops included for "gracing"your drums tracks. I find the synthloops useful for building a track fromscratch, as they have that thin(though appealing) quality to propelyou to make a video game tune orsoundtrack. Overall, this is a uniquebut cool library full of quirky noisethat would definitely appeal to theIDM and Glitch crowd. Thumbs up!







CONTACT:www.discoverysound.com

FORMAT: - ACID/WAV/REX2 - Audio CD for auditioning - 44.1 kHz/16-bit format

LIST PRICE: $55

Sample MagicMinimal Techno

This superb library from Sample Magicis aimed at producers wanting a goodsound set for minimal techno, danceand other electronic music sub-genres.It features a DVD of 44.1kHz/24-bitsamples and a CD for quickauditioning of the sounds. The multi-format files are presented in Acid WAV(800MB+), Apple Aiff loops, Rex2 andStylus RMX format. They'recategorized into bass, combi loops,drum hits, drum loops, fx, musical,synth and top loops. The sounds arebroken down further into 125, 127and 130 bpm folders - giving the end-user the luxury of easy browsing andauditioning. This pack of almost 3 GBis also compatible with some of mostpopular softsamplers in the planetsuch as Kontakt, EXS24, Halion andReason's NN-XT.

Minimal Techno is no different fromprevious Sample Magic libraries Ireviewed. The samples are of high-quality, fresh-sounding and they rockbig time. It's apparent that SampleMagic puts a lot of effort, detail andcreativeness before each release andMinimal Techno is no exception. Thecreative loop programming andmeticulous sample editing are topnotch. The pounding drum loopssound massive and have enough juiceto shake any dance floors. The bassloops (153 files) offers plenty of deep,low-end similar to a rumbling F5tornado. The synth, musical and toploops offers inspiring phrases thatwould make good starter ingredientsfor techno tracks. All in all, I'mimpressed, yet again, with thissizzling SM release.

CONTACTS:www.samplemagic.comwww.soundstosample.com

FORMAT: - 2.29 GB CD/DVD multipack (2,454files), includes Audio, 24-bit WAV's(891 MB, 796 files), Stylus RMXcompatible Rex files (361 MB, 476files), Apple Loops (534 MB, 476 files)plus EXS24, Reason NNXT, Kontakt IIand Halion patches.

LIST PRICE: £58.67 DVD/CD, £49.95(download from SoundToSample)







by WilliamK

The Wusik Machine Project

Some years ago, after WusikStation V1 was out, I startedwondering about a hardwarecontroller which could be used toremotely access Wusik Station.After some time, I also started toget "romantic" feelings againabout my old TR-707 Drum-Machine. I also used to have aMC505-mkII hardware sequencerwhich had a nice way of handlingthe rhythm section of my songs.

Even before that, I had done someresearch on the subject (around 4years ago), but didn't do anything

about it. I was looking at acompany which had a great kitwhere you could attach LCDdisplays, knobs, buttons, faders,etc., and send the informationback to the computer. I evenordered the kit and did some tests.Sadly, it was too limited andexpensive.

I never took this idea any further,as it would require way too muchknowledge, on my part, in termsof microprocessors and electronicparts.

Last month, I decided to do a newGoogle search on the subject, andafter a few days of figuring thingsout, the solution came, and with aname: Arduino.

“Who's this Arduino dude peoplekeep talking about?”

It is actually an open-source kit,based on the Atmelmicroprocessor. It's great, cheap,and there are a ton of projectsaround the Internet all based onthis kit. You don't need to knowmuch about microprocessors, or

by WilliamK



even electronics, just the basics--soyou won't blow anyting up.

Arduino boards are all made in Italy.The ones that aren't, are called (orshould be) Freeduinos. And they canuse the same free Arduino Atmelsoftware+drivers to program it.

I must say that I was reallyimpressed with the whole Arduino-Dude thing. Its easy to setup, easy toprogram, and best of all, you can doeverything needed with the Atmelchip. For instance, I could controlseveral things, and just send databack to the computer about what haschanged from time-to-time; unlikethe previous solution, which wouldrequire the computer to do most ofthe work.

But, before you start to go nuts withall this talk, keep in mind that theidea here is to make something in myfree time, as a hobby. If it grows, wewill move it to the next level, but fornow, its just an idea, a beautiful crazyidea of course.

So, what's the next step? I didanother set of Google searches andfound more information. I even founda guy who did a great drum-padproject, and gave me some pointerson the whole thing. The idea I had,initially, is to make a remote GrooveSequencer box for Wusik Station.

The Arduino has an USB slot, whichcan send and receive informationfrom the computer. When you load apreset, it could send the allinformation directly to the hardwareunit. Attaching a 4x20 LCD unit iseasy, and not expensive. A bunch of

leads and buttons, plus someknobs, and there you go--justlike my old TR707 unit!

What's the big deal you say?Well, programming grooveswith the mouse can betedious at times. With thisunit, you could retire yourmouse from its groovingduties, as you could do everygroovin' thing with theGrooveBox Controller:change sounds, program theGroove Sequencer, loadpresets, etc..

I could probably even do anentire Wusik Station remotebox. And the best part, isthat since it would be open-source, you can either doyour own box, re-programthe box for something else orjust go nuts with modding it.

Sending Midi-Out is alsoeasy, so why not make areal drum-machine;without the need for acomputer? It's alsopossible! But for now, Ithink a remote solutionwould work best, as WusikStation is far more complexthan a limited Arduinoprocessor could do. Keep inmind one thing, the Atmelmicroprocessor is only16MHz with 32KB memory,so there's only so muchyou can do with it. There'salready some drum-machine projects aroundthe net using Arduino kits,so we don't want to re-invent the wheel here...butwe can mod it.

Arduino Diecimila Board, around $ 30 USD ready to use.


But now comes the big question: "Why notjust use any regular midi controller?" Well,simply, almost all controllers only sendinformation. Yes, I'm aware of Automatfrom Novation, but still, its not the bestsolution for this case. You can't really seeeverything that you need to tweak, not theway I want, to be honest. And there's stillthe problem of the Groove Sequencer,which can't be controlled with any of theNovation new units, not even with AutomatPro.

Now, how would we market this WusikMachine thingy? Well, at first, lets keep thisis a Do-It-Yourself Kit. DIY People candownload everything from our site, once wehave something to show, of course, and justsolder away at the components. With time,we could also offer DIY Kits with all requiredparts and even the box to put things in. Orjust order the whole thing ready to Groove,a bit more expensive compared to a DIY Kit,but still, we could play with all the optionswhen the time comes.

I don't think we will ever mass produce theWusik Machine, or whatever the name is,but still, it would make a nice DIY ControllerKit. The Arduino unit could also open Wusikto a totally new market, but that'ssomething that only time will tell.

The MIDIbox64 is a greatalternative forusers who want agreat DIY controller withtons of options. Sadly, thisis still not what I had in mindfor our Wusik Machine controller, asI want something that talks back tothe computer, and has an easier touse Groove interface.http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_gallery.html

It's funny how things are, I don't believe incoincidences, to me, things happen for a reason.A few hours ago, I visited my parents, and mySister was there. There was a small piece of MDFcut with the name of my youngest niece. I askedher "What's that?" and she explained that theguy who used to make some art stuff for myother sister, bought a laser-cut machine. I got abit excited, but didn't really gave too muchattention to the whole thing, as I already knowsome companies who do that from the Internet,but a bit expensively. After lunch, we had to visit

a friend, to bring a book, and we passed right infront of the place my sister told us about, whichis really close to our home. MoniKe noticed it wasopen, and we decided to visit the place; as weneed to check some other things, too. The guytold us about the laser-cut machine, and said itcould also cut and engrave acrylic! Yes! He alsosaid I could get it done in any color I wanted,and it was easy to setup things. So now, wecould also offer the front-panel of the unit allready to go, imagine that...


http://www.ucapps.de/midibox_gallery.html

September 2009

Documents

wusik stationnow

new sounds

thewusik sound magazine

ginno g

editorialanother magazine

new tutorialsand

new computerto

groove box