FREE MASSIVE 3GB OF ROYALTY-FREE SYNTH SAMPLES ON THE DVD

Issue 160 July 2016

www.musictech.net

3GB
samples

Issue 160
July 2016

SYNTH SPECIAL!
The magazine for producers, engineers and recording musicians

3 G B
of royalty-free
samples!
THE 12 best soft synths
CREATE the 7 deadliest synth sounds
THE ultimate OB-6 review & Roland Juno story

PLUS

In-depth workshops on
Songwriting
Channel grouping
Live's Simpler
Top 20 Production Tips
www.musictech.net

Issue 160
July 2016
5.99

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MT160.cover.indd 1 02/06/2016 15:00

 Welcome MT

Expert Panel
Studio Hardware John Pickford
A studio engineer for over 25 years, Johns
a keen sound-recording historian who has a
passion for valve-driven analogue equipment
and classic recording techniques.

Mixing/Mastering/Logic Mark Cousins

Mark specialises in sound design and
cinematic productions. Hes recorded with
orchestras across Europe and is heavily
involved in soundtrack composition.

Production Matthew Mann

Matthew Mann is a keyboardist, composer,
singer, writer and educator who spends much
of his time doing voiceover work, composing
original electronic music and fronting an 80s
tribute band.
Digital/Composition Andy Price
With a Masters in songwriting and a vast
interest in music history and recording
techniques, Andy works daily on MusicTech.net
and is currently heading up our songwriting and
Cubase series.
Recording & Guitar Tech Huw Price
A recording engineer since 1987, Huw has
worked with the likes of David Bowie, My
Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream, Depeche
Mode, Nick Cave, Heidi Berry and Fad Gadget.
Scoring/Orchestral Keith Gemmell
Keith specialises in areas where traditional
music-making meets music technology, including
orchestral and jazz sample libraries, acoustic
virtual instruments and notation software.
Ableton Live Martin Delaney
Martin was one of the first UK Ableton-Certified
Trainers. Hes taught everyone from musicians
to psychiatric patients and written three books
about Live. Martin also designed the Kenton
Killamix Mini USB MIDI controller and is now
the editor of Ableton Live Expert.
Synthesisers/Modular Dave Gale
Dave is an award-winning media composer,
orchestrator and producer, with a passion for
synths and modulars in all their forms, whether
software, hardware, vintage or contemporary.
Against all the odds,
we are going through a
boom time in synthesiser
use both in terms of
hardware and software.
I say against the odds
as a decade ago, most
people thought hardware
synths were dead; the
modular scene wasnt so much a scene but a circuit board;
and software was done, dusted and being pirated. Now,
though, its a very different story. Hardware is back with a
vengeance, modular is king and even software is shifting
units again
Were covering them all in this special issue of MusicTech with a lead review of
probably the best analogue synth in the world today (p62); the story of a Roland
classic synth range (p14); advice on how to sound like your synth heroes (p7); a top
12 of the best soft synths money can buy (p103); and even a workshop on creating
kicks on a modular (p41).
The variety of these features pretty much sums up the width and vibrancy of
the current synth scene its certainly not just for geeks, pretty New Romantics
(showing my age) or ravers (and again) any more. We can all benefit from a good
lesson on synthesis and sonics, and hopefully, this issue will not only show you how,
but why. (And if not, just enjoy the 3GB yes 3GB! of free samples on the cover
DVD!) Until next month, keep on programming

Electronic Music Alex Holmes

Alex has been a computer musician for 15 Andy Jones Senior Editor
years, having a keen passion for beats, bass Email andy.jones@anthem-publishing.com
and all forms of electronic music. Hes currently facebook: www.facebook.com/MusicTechMag Twitter @AndyJonesMT
involved in three different dance-music projects.
Instagram: musictech_official Tumblr: musictechofficial.tumblr.com
Pro Tools Mike Hillier
Mike spent five years at Metropolis Studios,
working alongside some of the best-known
mix and mastering engineers in the world.
He now works out of his own studio in London.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE!

Head to our constantly updated website
New to Music Tech?
for the latest news, reviews and 12 years
Chec k out our
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Beginners Gui
of quality content: www.musictech.net
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MAGAZINE July 2016 |3

MT160.welcome.indd 3 02/06/2016 12:05

 MT Contents

MT Contents
Issue 160 July 2016

SYNTH SPECIAL!
P7, 14, 41, 62, 103
DSI OB-6 REVIEW P62
FREE 3GB DVD! P114
WORKSHOPS P18, 41-58
MT Cover Features MT Interview

24 Emika
An in-depth chat with the Anglo-Czech
producer and sound designer

MT Workshop

SYNTH SPECIAL!
P7, 14, 41, 62, 103
41 CREATING KICKS
We have everything from an
exclusive review of the new DSI
OB-6 synth (p62) to a roundup of
the 12 best soft synths (p103) A new hardware workshop
and classic synth sounds (p7) focusing on all things modular.
and how to recreate them! This month: how low can we go?

4 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.contents.indd 4 02/06/2016 13:23

 Contents MT

MT Issue 160 Full listings

SYNTH SPECIAL!
007 | The 7 Deadly Synth Sounds
The Latest Reviews And how to recreate these most
iconic 70s and 80s sounds

DAVE SMITH INSTRUMENTS

Plus Orchestral Tools, Sonic Academy, Studio Electronics,
OB-6 014 | Back To The Future
The Roland Juno family of synths
041 | Modular Mayhem
Fostex, Sonimus and Soundcraft reviews and much more How to get a kick out of your
modular set-up
062 | DSI OB-6 Review
Exclusive, in-depth review of the
best analogue synth in the world
103 | The 12 Best Soft Synths
Money Can Buy
Technique And Tutorials Soft-synth heaven, right here
REGULARS
010 | Show off your studio here!

44 Live In Depth
INTERVIEWS
024 | Emika
Electronic meets classic in Berlin
034 | First Cut Ekkoes
Getting the best from Simpler Studio secrets and The League!

50 Logic In Depth
110 | Industry Guru Aston Mics
TECHNIQUE
044 | Live In Depth
Getting the best from Simpler
VCAs and Group Channels explained

56 Songwriting
050 | Logic In Depth
VCAs and Group Channels
056 | Songwriting In Cubase: Pt. 2
How to recapture your inspiration

Part 2 of our songwriting series using Cubase SUBSCRIBE

088 | for a huge discount!
REVIEWS
072 | Orchestral Tools Nocturne
Cello Soloist Series instrument
075 | Golden Age Project Comp-3A
Teletronix compressor reboot
078 | Sonic Academy Kick 2
MT Buyers Guide Kick-drum instrument
080 | ALM/Busy Circuits Dinkys
Taiko Quirky drum module

103 The 12 best

083 | Sonimus EQ Suite
Three plug-ins, one review
087 | Sonarworks Reference 3

soft synths money

Headphone-calibration software
090 | Soundcraft Signature mixers
093 | Charcot Circles sequencer

can buy
097 | Fostex TR headphones
098 | Vifa Oslo speaker
100 | Mini Reviews
114 | On your MT DVD

MAGAZINE July 2016 |5

MT160.contents.indd 5 02/06/2016 13:24

 Deadly Synth Sounds Studio MT

SYNTH

MTStudio
SPECIAL

Round-ups Analysis Industry insight

The 7 Deadly Synth Sounds

and how to recreate them
Its our synth special, so weve assembled a list of
special features starting with this, a look back
at the best synth sounds from the 70s and 80s

W
hat better way to open up the MusicTech Synth
Special than with a look back at some of the
most iconic sounds in synth history? Weve
chosen the Seven Deadliest Synth sounds not
simply because its a great play on words, we assure you
from the 1970s and 80s, a time when the synth rose to
become the dominant instrument in music production. So
without further ado, lets kick things off and go back to 1982,
or perhaps forward to 2019

01 Vangelis pad sound from Blade Runner

Blade Runner is now touted as one of the greatest
films ever made and its
soundtrack has become
01
almost as iconic, thanks to
tracks like the emotive The
Love Theme and high-tempo
End Titles, all produced by the
Greek god of the synthesiser:
Vangelis. Its the incidental
pads shimmering throughout synths ever, and youll be out of pocket by a five-figure sum if
the film that get our vote here you can even find one. The easiest way to recreate it fully is
and remain some of the most with Arturias CS-80 variant, the CS-80V, but any pad sound
appropriate and atmospheric can be pushed into this atmospheric realm.
sounds ever to grace cinema. Pick a sawtooth waveform over two oscillators; detune
Its still not certain who will be them and reduce the filter to taste. Adjust the amplitude
doing the music to the sequel envelope to affect the filter (so the filter opens as the notes
to Blade Runner scheduled for amplitude increases and decreases). Add reverb and youre
next year, but if we had our there. If this sound isnt at least used in the sequel, then were
way, either get us to do it or, of marching with pitchforks to LA to protest
course, Vangelis himself. Better still, just use the original
soundtrack, as it was such a pivotal factor in the success of
the original film.
02 The intro to Jump by Van Halen
Jump is to synth heads what Stairway To Heaven is to
guitarists. To some, its an iconic sound that perfectly sums
TO RECREATE IT up an area of music making and a time in human history
Vangelis used his trusty Yamaha CS-80 for much of the when soft rock was king; to others, its just bloody awful. The
music on Blade Runner. Its now one of the most sought-after latter are usually people who work in music shops and have

MAGAZINE July 2016 |7

MT160.Studio.indd 7 01/06/2016 12:32

 MT Studio Deadly Synth Sounds
to hear it on a daily basis or, like us, people who have been to
more than 20 NAMMs, the West Coast US gear show where
the intro to Jump is played on every keyboard there at least
50 times a day (and all within earshot as we peruse the
stands and halls). We never want to hear it again, but it
certainly makes our iconic sounds list
TO RECREATE IT
Its actually pretty easy and not dissimilar to the Vangelis
pad. Again, youd ideally want to use the original instrument
it was recorded with in this case an Oberheim OB-X and
again, Arturia can help you out with a top-notch emulation
(as can a list of freeware, or our cover star, the OB-6, on
p62 of this issue). A dual-oscillator analogue or analogue
emulator will do: sawtooth, detune, envelope, easy. Play with
low release and sustain and keep the filter frequency open
and stable in one position. Its easy enough to be played on
every keyboard at NAMM, within earshot but please dont.
03 The Giorgio Moroder bits from
Donna Summers I Feel Love
The machine-like, programmed bassline on I Feel Love so
perfectly countered Summers breathy and lush vocals that
the song almost single-handedly launched synth pop back
in 1977. Giorgio Moroder, along with engineer Robbie Wedel
and co producer Pete Bellotte, put the track together almost
entirely on a Moog Modular synth, including all the song
elements bar the kick drum. In those days, it was
programmed step-by-step but it was worth it, as the track
made such an impact that Brian Eno apparently told David
Bowie that it was the future of music, as they recorded the
real future of music together in Berlin.
TO RECREATE IT
Your absolute best bet is to get yourself a Moog Modular and
spend days wrestling with it to recreate the sounds. Okay, not
really. If you are the lucky owner of a limited-edition Novation
MoroderNova you will have this sound (and 49 other Moroder
presets) and be ready to be arpeggiated into Love action.
Sadly, that was a limited-edition synth, but MiniNova users
can download those 50 Moroder sounds into their machines
now from the Novation website.
The rest of us can quite easily do a Moroder with an
arpeggiator and bass sound on pretty much any synth. Set
8 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.Studio.indd 8
Many of the synth
sounds in our
retro-flavoured
roundup are
surprisingly simple
to recreate but are
no less iconic for it
your tempo to around 100 to 110BPM and your arpeggiator
to 16th notes. Play C, G, B, move up three semitones and
then two. Why not latch and play with the filter for some
extras that Giorgio couldnt do at the time?
04 Gary Numan the beefy pad lead from
Are Friends Electric?
We love Gary Numan he is one of the most self-effacing
rock stars you can meet. He insists he didnt invent synth pop
not intentionally, anyway. The story goes that he was
looking for a new angle to move away from his punk roots,
walked into the studio one day, played a sound on a
Minimoog which went on to be the sound on this track
and boom: synths = popular.
TO RECREATE IT
You dont need a Minimoog, although, of course, one would be
nice. You can buy different software versions, and freeware
variants also exist. As for hardware, you could wait for the
real thing, because as we go to press, Moog has announced
that Minimoog Model D production is resuming (indeed, the
company just presented one to none other than Gary Numan
at Moogfest in recognition of his contribution to music
richly deserved, we reckon). If you have a fairly standard
analogue synth, though, you could give this a go. Again, the
01/06/2016 12:32

sawtooth dual configuration comes to our rescue with a
short attack and decay plus medium sustain. The main line is
a lower C, G, B, F with a high (+1 octave) B, E countering. A bit
of real bass wouldnt go amiss here to underpin it. Numan
was fond of a bit of bass, as he told us last issue in fact, he
revealed to us that he wrote another synth classic, Cars, with
a bona fide bass guitar!
05 Depeche Mode Just Cant Get Enough
lead and bass
Depeche Mode burst onto most peoples radar with Just Cant
Get Enough. It was in the bands Vince Clarke phase and they
were very much getting to grips with both the technology and
the songwriting, not to mention the hair. Just Cant Get
Enough has that killer intro still a crowd shaker to this day
and a bass sound to counter it. If ever a song demod the
beauty of simplicity, this was it.
TO RECREATE IT
The Depeche boys (which they
were back in 1981) used a
Yamaha CS-5, Roland SH-1
and Kawai 100F among other
fairly basic machines, so you
should be able to recreate this
combo of sounds on pretty
much any virtual analogue.
We got a pretty damn good
approximation of this one with
the DSI OB-6 (on test this
issue). Thats not to say youll
need one for the task in hand
but, again, a two-oscillator
analogue is a preferred option,
if only to give you the extra
fatness. We mixed a triangle with a sawtooth wave, detuning
the former by five semitones. Attack and sustain are low,
release and decay medium. Filter and resonance will allow
you to home in on the sound here, but you might get
distracted along the way and just keep what you have. Start
your riff at G and stick to the white notes (the band
experimented more with the black ones later in their career).
Lazily, we used the same sound for the bass and it kind of
works but we are lazy, which explains why were talking
about their music and theyre still making it, 35 years on
06 The Human League Dont You Want Me
In terms of loving it or loathing it, this is another
Stairway equivalent. But the duh, duh, d-duh, duh bit
from Dont You Want Me is right up there with the most
recognisable synth sounds and, along with the opening
chimes of Soft Cells Tainted Love, is the 80s synth riff
guaranteed to get everyone up and dancing at a wedding.
Yes, even us. The Human League went from little-known
experimental brilliance through acrimony to a Christmas
Number 1 in the space of a year and this was also the track
that turned them into global superstars.
TO RECREATE IT
Cheat. A little, anyway. Wed actually recommend using two
sounds here the original definitely has two sounds layered
and the first could be one that weve already made. Take
the previous DM lead sound and make sure it is detuned, and
then underpin it with a bass note that follows it and you will
be close. You will need to increase both decay and sustain
MT160.Studio.indd 9
Deadly Synth Sounds Studio MT
times for both and maybe add a little filter sweep to the top
end. In the mix, try and blend them in terms of panning and
EQ to get them to sit together as one sound.
07 Kraftwerk The Model
We finish our Seven Deadly Synth Sounds tour with a
track that straddles both the 70s and the 80s. The Model
was originally released in 1978, but when rereleased in 1981
as a double A-side single with another Kraftwerk classic, the
prescient Computer Love, hit Number 1 in the UK in February
82. The band, of course, could have filled our Seven Deadly
Synth Sounds feature by themselves, as they are the very
godfathers of electronic music (techno, hip-hop, etc, etc, etc).
The Model, though, is arguably Kraftwerk at their smoothest
and most melodic: a peak of synth brilliance that sits
perfectly between the bands early experimental noodlings
and later techno catch-up phase.
TO RECREATE IT
The lead sound in The Model is probably the most complex of
the sounds in this roundup, but is still very simple compared
to what todays synths are capable of. As we plunder through
these early decades, were certainly finding that these
classic synth sounds are all fairly simple perhaps no
surprise, given the early technology used. Maybe they stood
out and have become classic simply because these were the
first outings for these particular sounds, or maybe its
because they backed such strong melodies
Either way, The Model does have a great lead melody and
sound. The original might have been produced on one of
three classics of the time: a Minimoog, ARP Odyssey or
Prophet-5 that the band were known to use. You can use a
sawtooth waveform to create it with a single oscillator (two
are always good, of course) with a fast attack and decay, and
a medium release and sustain. Now apply a slow LFO to the
filter frequency for the wow filter sound, start your melody
at the A note and stick to the white notes (they taught
Depeche Mode everything) and Ralfs your uncle. Did we tell
you we met one of Kraftwerk at Superbooth? No? Do feel free
to ask us about it
Coming soon: Well plunder the later decades of synth
sounds just as soon as we meet someone young enough to
tell us who or what Skrillex is [is it a cream for saddle
soreness? Ed]. MT
MAGAZINE July 2016 |9
01/06/2016 12:32
 MT STUDIO Show off your studio

Show off
your studio
(on a bus)
We ask you to Show Off Your Studios via
the MusicTech Facebook page, and you
do to great effect. And sometimes you
show off your buses, too, with studios in
them. Of course you do!

Just like waiting for a bus,

Steve Lewis wanted a
mobile recording studio
and then two buses came
along at the same time

Studio Bus
Interviewee: Steve Lewis
Contact: www.camo.show

MusicTech: Okay, your studio
appears to be on a bus (or two)
Steve what gives?
Steve Lewis: The back story is
huge, but the short version is:
I started drumming at 14 in
Southport and moved to London in
2000. Prince Charles charity helped
me set up a studio in Greenwich,
but after many noise complaints, I
ripped it all out over a weekend,
bought a coach for 5,000, loaded it
and drove off. Over the next decade,
it went through many conversions
and I became a proper band bus
driver [eventually with two buses!
Ed]. Being a musician,
AV specialist and running two
mobile studios has opened
countless doors of amazing Blackmagic ATEM vision mixer (for
opportunity. From what was a live streaming sessions).
resolution to noise complaints, we
will be a travelling music TV show. Which DAW do you use?
Both buses work together, ideally at I use Logic since I converted to Mac.
music festivals.
Whats your favourite studio gear?
MT: What are the key components The Mackie Onyx 1640i its so
of your studio, aside from wheels? versatile, especially how it fits in
A Mackie Onyx 1640i mixer; Alesis such a small amount of space.
io|26 interface; Apple iMac and
Logic; Ableton Live; plug-ins galore;
Roland SH-101; Korg MS2000,
Triton Studio, four electribes, a
Kaoss Pad and MicroKorg;
numerous guitars and basses;
percussion kit, V-drums; various
mics; professional four-track tape
recorder; four HD Sony cameras;

110| |July
10 November
2016 2015 MAGAZINE MAGAZINE

MT160 SOYS.indd 10 31/05/2016 15:59


How do you use your setup
professionally, or for fun?
For now, its used for friends, family,
and fun sessions. Ive taken the
studio to a few festivals and ran
sessions at them. The plan is
eventually to run a web series from
the studio.
Does anything annoy you about
your current studio setup? Fader
one has come off and it needs fixing
back in!
MT160 SOYS.indd 11
STUDIO Show off your studio MT
Next on your studio shopping list?
Faster Mac and Korg Minilogue.
Whats your dream piece of gear?
Moog Voyager synth heaven!
Any advice for MusicTech readers?
Research and keep going!
Any studio anecdotes? Being
chased out of Manchester in the
coach with the Underwolves on
board. We only lost one window.
Sunshine
Studio
Contact: through us at MusicTech
We love the
Bullet console
Sains set-up:
nothing fancy
MT: Key components? iMac;
TAC Bullet32/8/2Console; MOTU
828x I/O; Ferrofish A16 ADAT I/O;
Yamaha HS8 and HS8S Sub;
Yamaha NS10s.
Which DAW? Logic Pro X a great
user interface with a wide selection
of synths and plug-ins. We have a
Waves package to get the full
control of modern plug-ins, while
being able to emulate old recording
techniques and sounds that are
specific to any genre.
Favourite gear? TC Electronics
Finaliser 96K. Great for mastering as
well as multi-band compression and
limiting for any application. AES is
essential as well, to limit the noise
created with multiple A-D and D-As.
How do you use your setup?
The studio is set up for full-band
recordings, vocal sessions, overdub
sessions and mastering. Web-order
drum tracks are very popular; weve
spent a lot of time on mic selection,
placement and room adjustments to
get powerful and rich drum takes.
Next on your studio shopping list?
A Yamaha Montage 8.
Anything annoy you about it?
An archiving system we can back up
offsite needs to be addressed.
Otherwise, its a joy to work in!
Dream gear? Rupert Neve 5088. If
you have to ask why, you havent
heard one.
Any advice? Balance your control
room for isolation and listening.
If your setup is unbalanced your
mixes will never be balanced.
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 11
31/05/2016 15:59
 MT STUDIO
Show off
your
Showstudio
off your studio
Jack Morgan
Contact: jack644@hotmail.com
MusicTech: Tell us about the key
gear components that make up
your studio?
I have a PreSonus FireStudio
interface; TC Electronic C300XL FX
effects processor; Quad 520f
amplifier; Drawmer DS201 noise
gate; TL Audio Indigo preamp;
Yamaha REV7 effects; Focusrite
Saffire Pro 24 interface; TL Audio
PA-1 valve preamp (newly added);
Focusrite Mix [Control? Ed]; Alesis
VI25 controller keyboard; KRK
Rokit RP8 monitors; Beyerdynamic
DT 990 Pro headphones.
Not to mention some pretty cool
lighting So which DAW do you
use, and why?
I use Logic Pro X and also Logic 9
for its MIDI, because I feel like I can
put pen to paper in the digital sense
with regards to making my music
quickly with this software. I also
use Avid Pro Tools 12 for editing, as
it offers much more precision
within edits.
110| |July
12 November
2016 2015 MAGAZINE MAGAZINE
MT160 SOYS.indd 12
Whats your favourite studio gear?
Probably my favourite bit of gear
now is my Quad 520f amplifier. It is
a beautiful amp for passive speakers
(Im in the process of obtaining new
ones), and holds historical value as it
has been used during some famous
recordings in Trident Studios in Soho
(where I work).
How often do you spend time in
your studio? Any free time I have in
the week I am in my studio, at least
an hour or two a day, with weekends
seeing a lot more use if Im home.
How do you use your setup: for
recording bands, or for your own
music? I use my studio to make and
release music for my record label
Seizure Ltd. I also use it for any
quick edits that need to be done
before going to work which mainly
deals with audio for TV and Film.
Whats next on your studio
shopping list? My monitors are
The lighting
is almost as cool
as the gear
(and pictures)
going to be upgraded very soon
to some Adam A7Xs or Genelec
8040Bs. After that, an Access
Virus TI2 synth will be a close
second purchase.
Is there anything that annoys you
about your current studio setup?
My monitors! I use my headphones a
lot more, to be fair, but I bought
them a long time ago, and they are
muddy they need to go.
What is your dream piece of gear,
either real or imaginary? The
Maselec MLA-3 multiband
compressor Ive heard it in action
and its superb.
Do you have any advice for
MusicTech readers about
setting up a studio?
You should be happy with the space
that you have created as it becomes
something of a shrine, and
remember that your studio is
always a work in progress!
31/05/2016 15:59

Tiko Lasola
Contact: contact@tikolasola.com
MT: Key components?
A PC running Reaper; RME Fireface
802 interface with the advanced
remote controller (ARC) which in
my opinion is essential; Amphion
Two15 monitors with Amphion
Amp500 amp; Beyerdynamic DT
770 headphones (I know them so
well, Ill always have a pair in the
studio). My main keyboard is a Korg
Kronos 2 and I use a ton of virtual
instruments for my work as well.
Both electric guitar and bass are
from the S.U.B. series of Sterling by
Music Man and my acoustic is a
Yamaha FG-730S. For drums, I have
the Millenium Transformer bundle.
I use the Rode NT1 for basically
everything I record with a mic.
Which DAW? I use Reaper. When I
was starting out, I tried different
DAWs like Pro Tools and Cubase.
Reaper was simply the most
intuitive for me. Everything was
where I felt like it should be, so I
didnt need to spend a lot of time
MT160 SOYS.indd 13
STUDIO Show
reading the manual or looking up
stuff. It just felt right.
Favourite gear? The Amphions
theyve changed the way I work. Im
not checking mixes on different
systems now, as I know that when it
works with the Amphions, it really is
good. I love the sound or the lack of
a sound. They really pull me into the
music and the monitors disappear.
Transparent, punchy, super detailed
and very inspiring. I love to sit back
and listen to music with them as
much as I love creating it!
How do you use your setup?
Professionally, most of the time. I
also listen to a lot of music every
day and play my instruments, as
thats a big part of me I base all
my music on improvisation and feel.
I do record a lot of non-work-related
music with friends and by myself.
Next on your shopping list? A
larger space with room for an
Showoff
offyour
yourstudio
studio MT
Just get the gear
you need
(and blue lights)
acoustic drumset and grand piano.
After getting the Amphions, I
finally feel like I dont need to buy
more gear to achieve the sound I
want. Its a liberating feeling!
Anything that annoys you? Its
starting to feel a bit small. I look
forward to having a bigger room, and
that grand piano and acoustic drums
at my disposal at all times.
Dream gear? A Steinway grand
would be amazing. Piano is my
main instrument and theres
nothing in the world that can take
me to where closing my eyes and
improvising on a piano does. Ive
played a few Steinways and they
speak to me. Its a dream, for sure.
Any advice? Acoustic treatment is
important and pretty cheap when
you do it yourself I built all the
panels for my first studio for about
$200. Buy gear you can afford, but
only get what you really need. MT
MAGAZINEApril
MAGAZINE July 2016
2015 | 13
31/05/2016 15:59
 MT Back To The Future

SYNTH
SPECIAL

BACK
TO THE FUTURE
Back in the early 80s, synths were still an expensive business.
Then Roland came along with the legendary
Juno series. Dave Gale powers one up, with fond affection

14 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.Back to the future.indd 14 01/06/2016 09:20


I
n my youthful years (the summer of 1982 to be precise
and now a somewhat distant memory), I managed to pick
up a catalogue by Roland, and would scan the pages from
cover to cover, as I listened to the bands of the day, with
ever-growing envy. Having moved past the pages containing
the completely unaffordable Roland products (the like of
which appear to be less affordable, even today), I stumbled
across the Juno 6, firmly residing in the more affordable
section of the catalogue.
Around the same time, I attended a music holiday course,
run by a teacher friend of mine, and as I arrived, I saw a Juno
6 in the flesh, in all its glory and whats more, the offer of
taking it home at the end of the course, for the remainder of
the school holiday. This turned out to be a very formative time
for me; think pre-internet, when it was rather more difficult
to get relevant information about such things. Despite this,
within a day or two I had the Juno 6 covered, and this was not
because I was some form of synth whizz kid, but largely due
to the spectacular simplicity of the layout and design
which in no way diminished the raw power available.
So lets start at the beginning of the signal path, with a
DCO (Digitally Controlled Oscillator). Why a DCO? I hear the
analogue aficionados cry. Well, its not really a DCO in the
traditional sense of being a true digital oscillator. It was,
in fact, very analogue, and thanks to developments in the
technology, it was really a VCO which was very firmly under
digital control, but nonetheless the Roland fascia described
it as a DCO. The plus side of this was that the tuning was
incredibly stable. All six voices would stay firmly in tune, and
then there was the sound! Three press-button switches
would activate Saw Tooth, Square Wave and the Square Sub
Oscillator, the latter having its own dedicated long-throw
fader. Obviously, as an inexperienced teenager, the only thing
to do was push all three buttons down and make it sound as
huge as possible some might say phat, but Im pretty sure
that word hadnt been invented by then (in fact, it might have
been the Juno that brought this word into being). This was
also in no small part due to the addition of two chorus types,
available at the end of the signal chain, which would beef up
the single-oscillator-per-voice architecture. No surprise,
then, that the reputation for beautiful string timbre is so
legendary amongst Juno owners.
Next stop, filters and gates
And so the signal path continues, as is so clearly laid out on
the beautiful front fascia, in the direction of the filter, or two
MT160.Back to the future.indd 15
Back To The Future MT
THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
It would be impossible to talk about all of these wonderful
vintage Junos without mentioning the new kids, in the
shape of the Roland Boutique range. While these were a
limited run, all three machines (based on the Jupiter 8,
Juno 106 and JX3P) have been met with great acclaim,
shadowed only by the form factor and size of faders.
However, if you do have a vintage 6 or 60, the clever guys
at tubbutec.de have an excellent retrofit which can be
applied, to turn your old machine into a Juno 66. I recently
saw this in action at the Superbooth16 event, and was
delighted and surprised at the additional functionality
which this could offer, which included MIDI, onboard
sequencer, mono/poly modes, more LFO modes, and lots
more. Definitely something to consider if you want to give
your Juno 6 or 60 a new lease of life.
Above: The original, filters to be precise. Not content with offering a single 24dB
affordable Polysynth. low pass filter, Roland also included a high pass filter, which
Splendid in its styling,
charm and sonic was to be exceptionally useful for resonant bell tones and
potential HPF bass sounds. The LPF was not the most violent of filters,
Main image: The with quite a distinctive and pleasant timbre, but would
hugely helpful self-oscillate if pushed, which is always a useful trick to have
addition of 56
programmable patch
up your sleeve.
memories opened up We move to the envelope section, which consisted of a
the Juno 60 to the single ADSR envelope, with the option to send the amplitude
gigging generation
(VCA) to a gate; a simple affair, literally akin to a light switch
on and off. The ADSR was punchy, with reasonably long
tails of around seven seconds on the decay and release
phases, which proved incredibly smooth, if pointed in the
direction of the filter. Also available was the Low Frequency
Oscillator section, with both manual and automatic
assignment, and here I have to mention my favoured layout
of manual LFO triggers. The pitch lever resides firmly left of
the keyboard, with the glorious white and chunky LFO trigger
right next to it. Beautifully ergonomic, with the sort of positive
response that every synth player yearns for. I was saddened
when the design was replaced by the forward-tilting pitch
lever design that came later in Rolands product design, and
the Juno 106.
Beautifully ergonomic, with
the sort of positive response that
every synth player yearns for
Striking tones
Of course, having forked out the reasonable amount for the
Juno, the chances are you might have a sequencer on the
agenda. Regrettably, this wasnt much of a prospect for the
Juno 6, due to its lack of data connectivity (MIDI was still a
glimmer in Dave Smiths eye), but the one thing that was
included was an arpeggiator, and oh my, the fun you could
have with that. It went up, down and both. The octave-jump
basslines that I could play with one finger, leaving the heavy
duties to the Juno, would allow for hours of escapism, but
then they were very different times.
Whats curious about the Juno 6 is that it was very quickly
joined by the Juno 60, some six months later. It was largely
identical in design, but with a few additions which made the
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 15
01/06/2016 08:59
 MT Back To The Future
THE VINTAGE ALTERNATIVES
Back in the day, the main competitor to the Juno came
from Korg, who were offering a similar machine called
the Polysix. Not surprisingly, the Polysix offered a very
similar architecture; however, the oscillators were deemed
preferable by many. Korg sneakily also introduced a price
drop, during the reign of the Juno, putting Roland under
pressure to do the same. Many believe that the Juno 60s
swift appearance on the coat tails of the 6 was largely
down to this price-drop pressure, so in many respects, the
Korg is the absolute contender if looking for a vintage poly
at the lower end of the price bracket. However, if you feel
you simply must have a vintage 106, but dont feel that your
budget can extend that far, consider the HS-60, which was
produced as a domestic version. It has a sloping panel
and inbuilt speakers, and is identical to the 106 except
for the lack of Pitch/Mod lever which was removed. Its
practically all of the 106, but normally for far less cash.
60 so much more desirable. This call to arms by Roland was
in no small part thanks to the appearance of keyboards from
other companies, offering functionality that the Juno 6 didnt
have. So the Juno 60 added a nice bank of 56 programmable
memories in non-volatile RAM, which would be vital for any
gigging keyboard player. While the experimentation of a
memoryless keyboard was wonderful for studio use, it rather
left the Juno 6 behind. The other huge selling point for the 60
was the addition of Rolands very own Digital Communication
Bus (DCB), which immediately gave connectivity to other
devices with the same protocol. Admittedly, this was only to
other Roland products, but sequencers and interfaces also
appeared with this protocol, giving the option to record in a
MIDI-like fashion.
The reign of the Juno 6 ran until 1984, while the Juno 60
ran on a shade longer, until the Juno 106 made a huge
entrance to the market, in 1985. Armed with another new
protocol called MIDI (and ditching DCB), the 106 would be a
huge hit with anyone wishing to take advantage of this
new-fangled socket. But the biggest and saddest news from
my perspective was the disappearance of the arpeggiator,
but the appearance of portamento. Dont get me wrong, I love
a bit of gliding around on a polysynth, but my fondness for
the arpeggiator is such that in my view, it was removed at
16 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.Back to the future.indd 16
Stacked with the
latest 80s digital
connectivity, the Juno
106 offered MIDI on a
Juno for the first time.
just the wrong point. Clocking the arpeggiator via MIDI
would have been a very useful thing indeed, and I think
Roland missed a trick here.
I have to also mention that the 106 got a major restyling.
While the fascia remained very similar, with a slight
lightening of colour, the faux-wooden end cheeks were
replaced by sleek plastic wedges. Roland, as anyone from
that era knows, designed the future, and clearly the plastic
wedges were very tail end 80s in design. While the
architecture of the 106 was largely the same, for many, the
106 didnt sound quite as nice as the 6 or 60. Clearly, this is
all down to personal preference, and the 106 is not exactly
lacking. There was an upping of memory locations to a
whopping 128, so as with all progress, there are swings and
roundabouts. The MIDI was, of course, the big selling point,
albeit in an early and basic incarnation, but it works well, as
long as you dont expect too much additional functionality.
Its so capable, and often fits
the bill musically even against
synths costing much more
The final legacy
My affection for the Juno is long lasting and well grounded,
so much so that, despite the appearance of many other
fantastic synths in my life, I had a yearning to purchase a 60
a few years back, and I was not disappointed. Its so capable,
and often fits the bill musically even against synths costing
much more, which is largely down to the tight Japanese
architecture that Roland offered back then. The original
Junos from Roland were class acts, which have deservedly
sealed their place in vintage synth history. For my part, I owe
them a huge debt, as they offered me the entre I needed
into the world of subtractive synthesis. MT
01/06/2016 09:00
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 MT 20 Pro Tips Improve Your Productions Right Now!

Tips To Improve Your

Productions Right Now!
Whether youre just getting started making music, or youre a long-time super producer,
there are some things that everyone should know. Matthew Mann gives us 20 tips that
should help you increase your productivity, or even take your tracks to the next level

Try tuning drums CREATE A SONGWRITING TEMPLATE

to help them fit in 02 You may find that you return time and again to the same
your composition
virtual instruments and/or effects plug-ins. Setting up a
01 session that includes those instruments and effects and then
saving it as a template greatly speeds up your songwriting/
recording/mixing workflows. You can even save favourite
starter patches for your instrument, compressor, EQ, reverb
and other plugin settings. In most DAWs, it is simply a matter
of opening your template, renaming it to describe your new
project, and then saving as that new name. This keeps your
original template intact and establishes a great
housekeeping and workflow habit.

COLOUR CODE AND LABEL YOUR TRACKS

IF YOUR DRUMS ARENT WORKING,
01 TRY TUNING THEM A BIT
Sometimes, when drums arent sitting well, it might be worth
changing the pitch. For example, a kick drum tuned up a little
may sit better with a bass. A kick tuned down can add much
more weight and can even sound similar to a subby bass
drum (think 808). Toms can be tuned to the key of a song and
this will go a long way toward supporting the musicality of the
track. For something really arresting, experiment with tuning
snares and hi-hats up several tones or semi-tones until you
have something interesting.
03 Getting organised is another way to speed up your
workflow. Colour similar instrument tracks, MIDI tracks, and
Aux tracks. After theyre properly coloured, name the tracks.
Most DAWs create region names based on the track names
when recording audio and MIDI. It takes much more time to
go back and rename your tracks after recording, than to name
them ahead of time. Make sure all track names are
meaningful, too, or your exported stems could read: Track 1,
Track 2 Track 36, etc. This makes it very difficult to know
whats what when you return to the track later on.
SAVE OFTEN
04 and save a new version any time youre going to try
anything drastic. This may sound obvious, but I cant stress
enough that saving every few minutes will save you many
shed tears. Most DAWs allow you to choose an interval for
automatic saving. Five minutes is a pretty safe amount of
time. Also, use the Save As function anytime you want to try

18 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.Production Tips.indd 18 01/06/2016 09:52


something different with your production. Develop your own
naming convention that includes the track name, descriptor
and new version number (e.g. JustAnotherLoveSong_
AltChorus_V3). Then, if an experiment doesnt work, you can
always go back to a previous version.
ADD SOME SIDE-CHAIN COMPRESSION
05 TO MAKE PADS MORE INTERESTING
Lets say you have a pad in your song. Is it sounding lacklustre
and uninspiring? Add a compressor to your instrument track
and connect the side-chain input of the compressor to a bus
fed by an 8th- or 16th-note hi-hat. Adjust the release time
and threshold of the compressor, until you hear a rhythmic
element to the pad sound. Ideally, the hi-hat track should be a
dummy track with the volume turned all the way down, so you
can really hear the effect it has on the pads. You can use this
same trick with auto-pan, auto-filter or a gate.
LAYER SOUNDS
06 Another trick you can try when an instrument isnt
sitting well in a track is to layer it with another version of the
same instrument. Collect a folder full of kick drums. Make
one for snares, too. You can take a kick with boom, another
kick with snap, and yet another with some distortion and
layer these to create your perfect kick drum. Then render it
and save as a favourite. This works really well with synths,
too. Duplicate a synth part to a new track and use another
synth patch to layer beneath the first one. Experiment!
TWEAK YOUR SOUNDS TO FIT BEFORE TOUCHING EQ
07 Fixing tracks in the mix isnt the answer. My friend
Joe Gilder preaches getting it right at the source. That is,
taking some time to alter your sounds at the source will save
time during mixdown. For example, tweaking the filter on
your synth lead may get it to sit better with your pads; or
repositioning the microphone in front of your guitar amp may
allow that track to sit better with the rest of your instruments.
Experimentation during production can often lead to a song
that practically mixes itself.
FIND YOUR OWN UNIQUE SOUND
08 Stop! Dont reach for that preset on your favourite synth.
If you do, tweak it enough that its uniquely yours. Often, when
MT160.Production Tips.indd 19
Improve Your Productions Right Now! 20 Pro Tips MT
04
a new synth is released, top producers will use the presets to
create successful tracks. Suddenly, everyone who follows
with tracks using those same presets will be accused of
trying to sound like that producer or artist. This was
especially obvious when the Yamaha DX7 was released in the
1980s. Dont fall in line with the herd. Create sounds that are
yours by twisting those knobs, adding interesting effects or
even layering them with other sounds.
REFERENCE. REFERENCE. REFERENCE
09 Youve heard it over and over, but you still mix tracks
without a reference, right? Using a reference will help get you
close to what youre going for in terms of layout, sound, and
mix. Import tracks that are similar in style to what youre
going for and compare them occasionally to your own. Make
sure to adjust the volume of the commercial track to match
the level of your own mix. Also, make sure the commercial
track isnt running through any processing that your mix may
be running through, or it can skew your reference material.
CHECK THE PHASE
10 Phase issues between two tracks/sounds can
sometimes kill a mix. If layering kicks or other instruments,
check to make sure their waveforms are in phase with each
other. You can visually look at waveforms and move them
forward or back on the timeline so they line up properly. Some
DAWs feature a switch or plug-in that will invert the phase on
Using a reference will get you
closer to what you want in terms
of layout, sound, and mix
Above: Save often a track. If you flip the phase and it sounds better, youll know
and employ your own something was out of phase. This is especially important with
naming conventions
multi-micd drum kits. This can affect sampled kick and bass
Below: Experiment relationships, too.
with un-quanitising
to get a more human UN-QUANTISE TO GET A BETTER GROOVE
and less mechanical
11 What?! Un-quantise? But, I finally got my programmed
groove going drums to sound good! Quantising drums (or any other
instrument for that matter) can lead to tracks that are tight,
but rather mechanical-sounding and robotic. Thats great if
youre going for that sound. However, for more swing, groove
and realism, try using your DAWs groove-quantise function.
Most of them have one. Instead of quantising to 100-per-cent
accuracy, try using something like 93 per cent, so that the
notes are not all exactly on the grid. Also, try importing
different groove templates for different feels.
ADD WEIGHT TO YOUR KICK WITH A NOISE GATE
12 I use the same principle as in tip 05, except that the
sound to use will be a low sine wave. If the DAW does not have
11
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 19
01/06/2016 09:52
 MT 20 Pro Tips Improve Your Productions Right Now!
Add weight to
your kick with
a noise gate
12
a noise generator with the sine-wave option, use almost any
synth to do the same thing. Add a gate after your noise
source. Tune the sine wave down to about 60Hz or so and
select the side-chain input on the gate. Adjust release and
threshold to taste. You may also need to adjust the pitch of
the sine wave to fit the song as well.
13 BOUNCE MIDI TRACKS TO LIGHTEN THE LOAD
Is your resource meter peaking and your computer
getting sluggish? Render virtual instruments as audio tracks,
then remove the virtual instruments. Some DAWs call this
bouncing to audio. This will free up processing resources.
Some DAWs make this very easy and will even allow you to
freeze and then unfreeze virtual-instrument tracks later if
MT Step-by-Step Setting up templates
In Studio One, setup your session and select File > Save As
01 Template and save it in your Templates Folder. Then restart
Studio One.
In Pro Tools, its also simple. First off, set up your session and
03 select File > Save As Template.
20 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.Production Tips.indd 20
something needs to be changed. This idea of bouncing virtual
instruments is also great when transferring to another DAW
or sending tracks to another user for collaboration, as the
other person may not have the same instruments.
ADD SNAP TO YOUR SNARE WITH A NOISE GENERATOR
14 This is a neat trick to add more snap to a snare. Insert a
noise generator on a new track and add a gate after it. Watch
the volume on the noise track it can be loud! Now choose
the key or side-chain input on the gate and select the snare
track. The snare is the source and will trigger the gate, telling
it to open each time a snare hits. Adjust the release and
threshold settings to taste. This will take work, but sounds
great when done right.
ADD EXCITEMENT TO HI-HATS WITH AUTOMATION
15 A simple trick to add interest to hi-hats: add a chorus
plug-in to the hi-hat track. While recording automation,
adjust the chorus depth, LFO speed and width. This can add
great movement to a hi-hat track and keep it from sounding
boring. This also works with other plug-ins like auto-filters,
delays, auto-pans, flangers anything that makes them more
interesting. This technique can be used in electronic music to
great effect, but can also be used in standard rock and pop
songs if done subtly. Experimentation is the key here.
DISTORTION IS BAD UNLESS ITS GOOD DISTORTION
16
The worst thing in digital audio is distortion; that is,
digital clipping. This isnt what we want. But if youre trying to
get a bass or other instrument to sit well in a mix, but it
sounds muddy or gets lost, add a modest amount of
distortion. This adds harmonics to the original signal, which
will help it cut through the mix. Gentle distortion can add
warmth to any source material. It can also add grit to an
Its easy in Reason, too. Setup your session and select File > Save
02
As and name it. You have to move the saved song to
Propellerhead Software > Reason > Template Songs. Restart Reason
and select File > New from Template > Your song template.
In the popup, you can choose to install your template in System
04
or in your own location. If you select System for your template,
choose User Templates under Category. You can even include media
such as drum loops if you want. Restart Pro Tools.
01/06/2016 09:53
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 MT 20 Pro Tips Improve Your Productions Right Now!

Left: Distortion is PLAY LIVE OVER PROGRAMMED MIDI TRACKS

bad unless its being
18 Sometimes the human element is left out of electronic
used to add extra music. Playing a part live (guitar, percussion or keyboard)
harmonics, warmth or
character to a sound
over programmed beats can add just the right amount of
human touch to connect with your listeners. Record the result
and feel the groove. Moreover, adding real instrumentation
16 to a track can add realism. For example, having a real
violinist or cellist record a performance and adding it to an
orchestral piece can fool the listener into thinking the whole
composition is made from real instrumentation. This works
with band instruments, too.

YOUR FLOW, NOT THEIRS

otherwise pristine track. It even works well on vocals, but be
gentle with it here unless your last name is Reznor!
19 Every producer has a certain way he or she likes to work.
It is great to see how others work and what tools they use; it
can give you great ideas, but try not to focus on their workflow
and tools. Dont make yourself work exactly that way. What
works for others may not necessarily work for you. Focus on
techniques that will help you achieve your goals and keep
them in mind as you work. The whole point is to make music
and have fun doing it. Your own workflow will come with time
and practice.

USE FOUND SOUNDS
17 Another way to make a track your own is to use found
sounds, that is, record your own samples from anything you
can think of. Try tapping on a pocketful of change and record
it for use as a tambourine or hi-hat; with some delay and
chorus, the effect is very cool. You could also try sampling the
sound of some piece of machinery or a vocal part. When
heavily processed, these can add great interest to a track. The
solo in Charlie XCXs track Red Balloon is a great example of
treated vocal samples used as an instrument.
MIX AND MATCH TO CREATE YOUR OWN DRUM KITS
20 There are so many drum-sample sources out there that
its very easy to do. Find a kick (or kicks) that you really like
and drag them into your favourite drum software. Do the
same for your snares and hi-hats. In fact, find all those
percussive elements you find interesting and add them to
your kit. When you have a set that you really like, store it as a
preset for easy recall. Many websites (such as http://samples.
kb6.de, for example) offer plenty of free drum samples to
download. Do a quick search and build up your own kits. MT

MT Step-by-Step Side-chain sub kick

In Studio One, create an Aux track and insert an instance of Tone
05 Generator set to Sine Wave. Select a sub-frequency. Next, add a
gate. Turn on its side-chain button. Create a Send on your kick drum
track and route it to the gates side-chain input. Adjust by ear.
In Live, create a sub kick track and drag Sine Saw Square Sine
06 from the Rhythmic Synth files in your library. Tune it to around
50Hz. Now insert a gate on the same track and set the input from the
kick track. Also make sure to click the side-chain button on the gate.

In Reaper, create a MIDI track with ReaSynth on it. Create a MIDI
07 note on that track somewhere around C1. Now add ReaGate to
the same track and set the Detector Input to Auxiliary Input. Now set
the Send of your kick track to Track 2 (your ReaSynth track).
The steps are similar in Bitwig Studio. Start with a kick track.
08 Create an Instrument Track and add Test Tone. Adjust the tone so
the sound is a sub frequency. Next, add a gate. In the gate, select the
kick track in the side-chain dropdown. Adjust settings to taste.

22 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.Production Tips.indd 22 01/06/2016 09:53

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 MT Interview Emika
MT Interview Emika
Emika
To realise her dream of recording and producing a full symphony, electronic
artist Ema Jolly turned to Kickstarter and succeeded in raising 25,000.
MusicTech visited Emika at her home studio in Berlin to find out more
S
eeking ownership of her career, Emika has
made light of the many hurdles producers
face going it alone in the industry. Having
signed to Ninja Tune for her first two
albums, Emika (2011) and Dva (2013), the
Anglo-Czech DJ/producer confronted the pros and
cons of being independent head on, resulting in her
starting her own label and accepting a job offer
working as a sound designer for Native Instruments.
Two albums surfaced on Emika Records in 2015
the electronic pop beast Drei and Emikas classical
piano opus, Klavrn, which inspired the artist to
seek funding for a new Kickstarter project How To
Make A Symphony. Her fans happily filled the pot
and Emika set to work recording with theCity Of
Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. With the album
currently at the mixing stage, Emika also found
time to release a four-track EP, Flashbacks, earlier
this year, with soprano vocalist Michaela rumov.
MusicTech: The Flashbacks video was filmed
entirely on an iPhone. Is that one of the drawbacks
of working on a tight budget?
24 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.INT Emika.indd 24
Emika: Well, it was a little bit of a business-savvy
decision, because Ive worked with quite a lot
different film companies and independent people.
If I ask anyone for a video, theyre going to start
with a budget of 5,000, so I decided that I would
spend 2,000 and go to Iceland on an adventure
with my friends. A lot of people told me about
Iceland over the years, saying its weird, and Im
weird, so Id have a nice time there. They also told
me Iceland looks and feels like being on the moon or
another planet, so I thought that would fit the
feeling of the track. Id already shot the video to My
Heart Beats Melody on an iPhone in Madeira, so I
had a little bit of experience, but it did need loads of
post production to make it look cool.
MT: On the track Total, you tried some new
techniques, passing voltage and feedback
through analogue rhythm processors?
EM: I got a bunch of synths from SchneidersBuero
in Berlin, which is a really wicked analogue-synth
shop, and Ive just got a load of gear from Metasonix,
which distorts electricity through its valves, so you
02/06/2016 10:17
 Emika Interview MT

can just ramp everything up. Ive worked with
digital pitch and cutting and scratching CDs to get
all these weird digital sounds, and doing that was
really interesting for about five years. Then I
started using analogue gear, which is just another
level. You have all these massive hot signals going in
to create this complete sausage of recordings, and
cutting that up is wicked you hardly need any
mastering at the end, because it has this really raw
sound. The main pad is actually from the Access
Virus that I used to have; I had the level on the synth
way too high, so it was distorting.
MT: You see these synths with built-in valves, but
you do wonder if they do anything sometimes
EM: I think its just for appearance, to be honest.
Theres one of those valves built into the Korg
Electribe and the levels do get louder, but not in the
same way as youd get from a 100-per-cent analogue
synth. I spent ages trying to work out if they do
anything or whether they just look cool.
MT: You enlisted soprano Michaela rumov for
vocals on the EP. How did that come about?
EM: Before I recorded with a symphony last year, I
went to Prague to meet Michaela, show her some
music and check out the studio Id be working in. I
was going there a lot and just trying to get into that
world. Michaela has the keys to the city there; she
performs three times a day in massive theatres and
she was rehearsing in this amazing venue called
Smetana Hall. So we drove from Berlin with a nice
preamp and a mic and set up in her dressing room,
which is more like a huge apartment with a grand
piano in it. We wrote a few lines of music and asked
her to sing it, then I sampled it for this EP because I
thought it would be a nice way to introduce her voice
to everyone before I started working on my new
symphony. I also think its really bombastic to put a
soprano in the middle of a song.
After two albums with Ninja
Tune, Emika (left and below) is
kick-starting her career with a
full orchestra (as well as an
upright piano)
You have all these massive
hot signals going in to create this
complete sausage of recordings
EM: I do think its unbelievable that my fans are
mega-massive studio with this huge hall and a great
sound. Its really weird for me because Im used to
having no money and working in my bedroom,
borrowing synths from people and banging my head
against the wall so everything is usually super-
low-budget and very creative. This project is the
other way around, everything is perfect the music,
the notes and the players were just perfection and
the studio engineers were all pro. There were no
managers or any of that stuff going on, everyone
just got to work.
MT: Did you expect to be able to fund the project
so successfully?
willing to pay for the music before they know how it
sounds or even if they will like it or not. Everyone
was just like, yeah, have some money! I did approach
some bigger labels about the project. They were
really interested but had no money to hire an
orchestra, so I just took the idea to the people. It
shouldnt work that way, but it has. I just feel really
humbled and amazed that all these people are up for
sharing that risk. Theres a guy from Los Angeles
who paid 2,500 to come to the recording, and
talking to him and the fans has been the complete
opposite of what Im used to. Theres this constant
boring conversation about how the music industry

MT: Youve been recording a 70-piece orchestral

symphony in Prague for an album funded by
Kickstarter. What was your motivation for that?
EM: First, I have to mention Im still in shock from
the whole thing. I got 25,000, so the whole
campaign was 5,000 overfunded, which meant
I could hire a bigger film crew and also had enough
money to do proper contracts for the sound
engineer, the conductor and the photographers.
Now Ive got Emika Records contracts, which I
didnt have before, so the whole Kickstarter project
has completely set me up. Ive got this massive piece
of music and Im supposed to be mixing it right now,
but its so hard to mix because the orchestra is
already so beautifully crafted that it doesnt need a
lot of mixing. Im trying to work out how to
post-produce it so it sounds more like me and less
like a straight-up orchestra.

MT: I presume mixing an orchestra is a new

experience for you, what are you learning from it?
EM: That Im going to leave a lot of it in its raw state.
Because the hall was massive, it doesnt need much
Karen Vandenberghe
reverb. Thanks to my fans, I was able to hire this

MAGAZINE July 2016 | 25

MT160.INT Emika.indd 25 02/06/2016 10:17

 MT Interview Emika
is not about music anymore and how nobodys
buying music, which is so crippling for music itself;
then youve got Kickstarter, which is absolutely
booming. Theres load of artists on there and people
starting restaurants or making comic books and
films. Its so positive and empowering.
MT: In terms of composition, did you approach the
orchestra with some ideas about how you wanted
the music to be mapped out?
EM: When I was younger, I really wanted to be like
Beethoven. I wanted to be a composer, but didnt
have those skills. I struggled to read music and
couldnt write my ideas down on paper, because
they were so abstract they wouldnt work as a score.
Thats why I got into recording and sampling and
using Logic, because I could record my compositions
with synths and sidestep needing scores and
musicians. But there was always this thing inside
of me that I wanted to do a symphony one day and
be good at writing scores, so I got back in touch
with my music teacher from school and asked if he
would transcribe the music. I used the East West
symphony library and wrote everything in MIDI,
which one day Ill release because Id love to show
everyone this crappy MIDI symphony that I have.
MT: What did you do once it was scored?
EM: It was really embarrassing, because the
musicians and the soprano wanted to hear how it
was going to sound and I sent this horrible MIDI
composition. My music teacher conducted the piece
and my engineer from Berlin came with me along
26 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.INT Emika.indd 26
The musicians wanted to hear
how it would sound and I sent this
horrible MIDI composition
Acoustic treatment surrounds
the computer cool screen, too
with the studio engineer, and I used another
conductor from Prague who is really famous
shes what the Czechs call a music director.
MT: What role did she play?
EM: She sat next to me in the control room with a
copy of the score and was reading it as the orchestra
was playing. So between me, her and the engineer,
if we heard a mistake or the orchestra hadnt quite
made a big enough crescendo, wed discuss it in the
control room, stop the recording and talk down into
the hall. It was a little bit heartbreaking for me,
because I didnt want to use a click track, I just
wanted to have the orchestra do a performance and
record it. But the music was too complicated and we
didnt have enough time, because the orchestra was
so big they couldnt see the conductor.
MT: Could you do anything to counter that?
EM: I changed the seating plan, because I wanted
the bass in the middle of the hall, like you would
have on a bass record. You dont mix the bass on
the right side, but in a classical orchestra, the bass
players all sit on the right and the violins sit on the
left. So I had this massive row of bass players sat in
front of the flutes. After about five minutes of being
02/06/2016 10:17
 in a studio that was costing a shit ton of money,
I realised we had to whack about 70 pairs of
headphones and cables on everybody so they could
watch the conductor, but also have a click track in
their headphones. We literally hammered through
it; so now Ive got a lot of editing and takes to put
back together.

MT: Is the fun part now moving that into the box
and creating a sound environment around it?
EM: Well, my sound engineers role is to bring up the
bass, find the right balance between the close mics
and the stereo ambient mics and follow my concept.
Its really mixing and balancing, nothing super
creative so hes taking care of that in Pro Tools.
Its funny, because I couldnt sleep last night and
was talking to him on iMessage. He was saying how
I should move over to Pro Tools, but Ive been
working in Logic 8, which I always go back to
because I love it. It just feels like the pen and paper
that I need.

MT: But youre becoming a Pro Tools convert?

EM: Im slowly starting to come out of my Logic 8
world and realising that Pro Tools has developed
loads over the past few years. Ive got a subscription
now to Pro Tools on my laptop. For years, Ive cut
and re-sampled loads of things in Logic, but I can do
all that in Pro Tools if I work out all the shortcuts.
Im really impressed, because [Avid and] Pro Tools
was one of those companies that were so rigid
it was industry standard, super-expensive and
non-accessible for years. Thats why I stopped using
it when I left university, because I didnt want to
spend thousands of pounds on a Pro Tools desk. But
I like the way theyve developed, it just makes you
work in a very technical way.
With Logic, you dont have to really think about
how youre setting up your routing you can work in
a very fluid, mad and artistic way but with Pro
Tools, you have to stop with every process, label
everything, set up channels and take care with what
youre doing. For that reason, its good when you get
to the mixing stage to stop and think about what
you want to achieve or why you want an effect. I feel
like everything gets quite mixed up in Logic
sometimes. You lose control of your mix and end up
with this Logic sound. So Im between these two
worlds now.

MT: So how is the process of mixing the orchestra

progressing and evolving?
EM: So, in parallel with my engineer cleaning it
all up, Im also working with a lot of effects and
re-sampling the whole thing. With the Prelude, I
took the woodwinds, cut them up and swapped the
outro with the intro and created more dissonance.
Theres this Waves plugin called H-Delay, which is
quite noisy and unreliable: its like a digital tape
echo, and that sounds amazing on Michaeles voice.
So Ive taken out a lot of her direct mic, so she
sounds much further back in the middle of the
orchestra now, and we put loads of echo on her in
certain places. I also saved a copy of her voice and
reversed it, cut it up and moved it around, so you

MT160.INT Emika.indd 27 02/06/2016 10:17

 MT Interview Emika
have these kinds of echoes of her voice, but youre
not really sure if it is her voice because the
woodwinds sound very lyrical as well, so theres
this spooky, trippy element to it now. So yeah,
just trying to trip everything out and make it sound
less like 70 people sat in a room and just abstract
everything and make it much deeper.
MT: Will it sound more like an electronic record
than a fluid orchestral piece?
EM: A lot of the concepts for the composition itself
come from my electronic world, like putting the
bass in the middle of the hall and hiring double the
amount of bass youd normally have. I also had a
tuba and a contra bassoon, and they just play
really deep, resonant tones.
That in itself already transforms what we know
as an orchestra, so it already sounds synthetic in a
way. Obviously, weve turned all of those notes up as
well and compressed them, which makes you ask the
question, is that a synth? Those sounds really
vibrate in a room, even though theyre all natural
sounds and instruments.
28 | June 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.INT Emika.indd 28
Pets should always be allowed in
the studio
I sort of treated the players as if
I was programming them. It sounds
simplistic, but still orchestral
MT: So it still sounds like Emika?
EM: With my post-production techniques, and the
fact that when I write stuff I use a lot of sub and the
main melodies often come from the sub or basslines,
it does sound very much like my work performed or
played with different sounds. For example, the
kinds of melodies the flutes were playing are a little
bit like how I would work with the oscillators on a
synth they were playing very close notes, a few
semi-tones apart, so it feels a little bit like a synth
oscillating. I sort of treated the players as if I was
programming them, so it sounds simplistic, but
still orchestral. You have a lot of people these days
getting orchestras to play or reinterpret dance
tracks, or you have postmodern music that is
rebelling against harmony and getting the players
to bang on their stringed instruments instead of
bowing them, using contemporary techniques that
sound really atonal and weird. But I dont know of
anyone whose written a symphony in the traditional
sense, then taken the whole concept from dubstep or
pop records and tried to mix it in this way. So yeah,
Im really excited to reinvent what a symphony
means to me.
MT: I suppose there is a danger of over-editing and
losing the essence of those initial recordings?
EM: We recorded the orchestra first and then the
singer in the hall without the orchestra, so I need a
bit of reverb when putting those two things back
together, but not so you can hear it as an effect. Ive
been working with Melodyne a little bit, because
there were a couple of notes in the symphonic
recording of the soprano that I wanted to change
slightly, and Melodyne is really good for that. Im
still finding it hard to find a reverb that Im really
comfortable with; one that sounds like space rather
than an effect. Its very hard in post production to
put reverb onto an orchestra thats recorded in a big
hall. For me, that stuff is starting to sound much
better dry, and its made me realise that if you want
a really great reverb, you need to record in a really
great space.
MT: Does that show some of the limitations of
using digital plug-ins?
EM: I feel like all the reverb plug-ins are quite
extreme. Even if you change the pre-delay slightly, it
has a massive effect on the whole colour of the
sound. I know that Logics Space Designer allows
you to use natural impulse responses, but it still
changes a lot once you start using that within a
plug-in. You know what its like working with
delays, you noodle around for ages and think its
amazing, then you listen to it the next day and
think, why did I do that last night, it sounds
02/06/2016 10:17
 MT Interview Emika
ridiculous? So its a case of destroying everything
and pulling it back in just experimenting, really.
MT: With Kickstarter, do you have to stick to your
release date, or is there flexibility?
EM: It means I have to have a release date and stick
to it. The last few weeks, I was being a little bit of a
baby and thinking everyone will have to wait until
January, but I cant do that. Thats why its called
Kickstarter, because it really keeps the pressure on
and keeps you focused. Its kind of nice that Ive got
this deadline. At the end of September, I want to put
out the Prelude as a single then the whole piece
will come a week or two after that. We also filmed
everything and Im going to put all of that on my
YouTube channel, so you can watch the whole
process being recorded. There will be a 50-minute
documentary piece, which has interviews from
everyone in it and the entire project journey, and
the whole piece itself will be split into movements.
MT: With this experience behind you, can you
envisage doing another Kickstarter campaign
or is it the sort of thing you can only do once?
EM: I think my ego feels like I couldnt ever do it
again, because Id be really afraid that it wouldnt
happen the second time around. I wonder if it
only worked as good as it did because its new and
exciting, and you always have this beginners luck
when you launch something new. Its really hard to
do second albums with the same idea again and Id
30 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.INT Emika.indd 30
Im recording on cassette
and playing it back at different
speeds, like when I was a kid
conductors. So hes hand-made 32 batons for every
Emika has her studio set up with
two workstation areas, each
with separate monitoring
love to be in a position where I could just save up for
a while and do it secretly on my own, but life never
really works that way. I suppose if its a massive hit
and everyone loves it, then it could work again.
MT: What goodies did you offer to contributors?
EM: Ive offered loads of different stuff. There was a
limited amount of remixes, where I would remix
your track or record a vocal for your track. There
were Skype tutorials, and the highest bidder got a
ticket to come to the session in Prague. I tried to be
really creative with the project; not just 10 gets a
CD or 20 gets vinyl. I also came up with the idea
to have an Emika Surprise Gift Box, but I wasnt
really sure at the time what I was going to put in it
for 150. But when my music teacher from school
retired, he started to make batons for really famous
person who has ordered the gift box.
MT: Have you reshaped your studio, or bought any
new gear recently?
EM: Yeah, Ive completely recreated my whole live
02/06/2016 10:17

DJ show, because I got really bored with that
towards the end of last year. So Im using the new
Ableton Push controller and this Looper plug-in
within Ableton, which I control with my iPad for
live vocal looping.
Ive got two Korg Kaoss pads, which are amazing,
and Im using these weird Korg delays like the
[monotron? Ed] delay, those really tiny 50 ones.
Ive got a Pioneer DJM-850, which I love because of
the routing and the setup. Its really simple to use
and I like the resistance on the faders. The EQ is
also very 90s EQ-style, and its got a mic channel
switch. It just feels like a classic piece of gear that
everyone should have.
MT: We hear youre a big fan of the ROLI products?
EM: Im working with ROLI and their new keyboard
called Rise. I had the big Seaboard, but Ive got the
Seaboard Rise now, which has got this vertical/
horizontal X, Y and Z control, so you can play the
keys vertically and program the filter cutoff by just
moving your hands up the keys. You can basically
touch the keys up and down as well as left and right,
and its pressure-sensitive too, so when you push it
the sound changes. Their products are the most
visionary, futuristic stuff right now.
MT: What does the Rise enable you to do in
practical terms?
EM: It just means that everything is way more open
to improvisation. From Ableton, I separated all the
parts of my songs, so Ive got beats, basslines,
synths and piano going through my soundcard into
the DJ mixer split across three channels. When I
want to do vocal looping, Ive got that going into the
fourth channel and my main vocals going to my
sound engineer, whos got some Eventide delays and
vocal preamps then I can play on the keyboard or
the Rise or transform the sound with the Electribe
and store samples in there as well.
With that setup, I can spontaneously reinvent the
tracks on the fly, sing completely different vocals to
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MT160.INT Emika.indd 31
Emika Interview MT
the record and record bits of vocals on the fly, have
that as a loop, EQ it and put effects on it. It means I
have the same possibilities now on stage as I do
when Im producing. Its so much more fun, and feels
way more live. People get their moneys worth now
when they come to my show its not just a case of
heres the album, Im gonna sing on top of it!
MT: What other gear are you into at the moment?
EM: Ive got a Korg monotron Duo, which is amazing,
and a Korg monotron Delay; theyve got speakers on
them and take batteries. Theyre tiny the size of an
iPhone and they just sound wild. Theyre only 40
each and the sound they make is mega cool. And Ive
got a cassette deck. Im also working on another
album, so Im having a go at recording stuff onto
cassette and playing it back at different speeds, just
like when I was a kid.
MT: What are the benefits of going back to the
tape deck?
EM: Well, I have a really nice Studiologic preamp
and quite an expensive and sensitive Neumann
vocal mic. Because I do a lot of close micing
techniques when I sing, and sing quite softly, I
usually have four layers of the same vocal. You can
get a lot of unwanted doubling of frequencies,
especially on the esses and general mouth sounds,
so a nice way of dealing with that is to record onto
tape. You can take a lot of those sounds out with EQ
Workstation 2 running Logic; a or by automating the volume, but to give it a slightly
rack of outboard plus (bottom)
different character, it can be much nicer to record
workstation 1 plus Ableton Push
onto cassette than trying to use plug-ins or
something on the computer.
Ive tried it with my mastering engineer because
hes got loads of different tape decks. I was sending
him vocal acapellas and different sounds and he
was recording them onto cassette and sending them
back to me to re-sample myself. Its really cool when
you work with your engineer in that way, but it
makes more sense to have one in the studio, because
its something I want to experiment with a lot.
Only available
for a short time!
02/06/2016 10:17
 MT Interview Emika
Karen Vandenberghe
MT: Is it easy to find cassette-based gear and tapes
these days?
EM: Pretty much you can get cassettes on eBay.
Until you start to look for them, you dont realise
theyre all over the place. Theres quite a lot of clubs
in Germany that sell cassettes at the bar, too. I dont
know if they will come back into fashion, because it
sucks when the tape becomes chewed, but you
work in this one direction where you want to clean
everything up and make it sound perfect for people
who want to listen on a phone or YouTube, but those
are some of the worst-quality tech in terms of
listening to music ever. Im thinking about the next
music Im working on, recording everything at the
mastering level onto a dub plate or cassette and
putting them out as digital copies, so what youll
really get is a recording from a tape.
MT: We noticed you have a hardware synth with
Russian writing on it?
EM: Thats a Russian rip-off of a Juno, its called the
Elektronika. It doesnt work all the time; you have to
punch it or smack it around a bit. I got that from a
guy in London for about 30. It has a five-pin plug
as its sound output, so its really weird and old.
MT: Are you more into software than hardware
these days?
EM: Well, I sold theAccess Virus TI Polar. I used
that a lot on the last album, and when I use
something really intensely for 12 or 18 months I
have to get rid of it. But now, every time Im working
I keep thinking, shit, I really want the Virus again
I feel like theres a gap in my studio. I want to
make a new record but everything I was doing
32 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.INT Emika.indd 32
Emikas Genelec and Adam
monitors are used in both setups
the low mids that sound kind of cool, but when you
I always have the feeling I never
really know sound; theres always
something new to discover
MT: The complexities of trialling and using
sounded like the old record, especially the pads and
basslines. I think the Virus mainly uses additive
synthesis, but it has a very specific sound.
MT: What software are you into right now?
EM: Im using FabFilter delays; theres one called
Time Factor that lets you switch from left and right
into mid-side, so you can really have these spatial
delays. Its awesome the way you can set up
different filters to be parallel, serial or parent
channel. You can automate the filtering on the delay
on the mid-channel and then have a different
automation for the side channel. So thats just wild,
it gives you endless possibilities of echo and
different colours and Ive been using that when
recording string pizzicato and the glockenspiel.
But you do have to be a little bit careful, because the
mix gets quite full very fast.
MT: And youve changed your speakers recently,
too, we understand?
EM: Ive got some big Genelec 8050s. Theyre
awesome and I think Im going to have these forever,
now. I spotted them when I was 20 in this studio
where I was mixing my first record and totally fell
in love with them. I just feel like theyre really
trustworthy. Theyre really flat and cold, so if you
make something pop out of these or make a sound go
far back into the mix, then you know that youve
really done a good mix. Whatever I mix on the
Genelecs works everywhere else on a car, an
iPhone, anywhere. If theres a problem with a part of
the sound, its really identifiable; whereas with a lot
of other speakers Ive used, you can have an area in
listen to the mix somewhere else, you realise it only
sounds cool on that set of speakers.
MT: How much of a difference does having the
right speakers make to your working process?
EM: I mean, the difference is that these speakers
are massive, which has made such an impact when
Im working with bass and sub, low mids and mids,
I can really identify these different areas in the
F
sound now: whereas with a smaller set of speakers, p
you just dont have that frequency range. Its a bit B
strange to have massive speakers working at quite a
low volume, but its really important for me because
I have loads of bass, but also loads of vocals and
high-frequency sounds as well. Having said that, to
completely contradict myself, I did just get a new E
pair of Adams. Theyre tiny, but Adams new range g
has blown my mind, so now I hear all kinds of a
frequencies in the mids I dont hear on the Genelecs.
different speakers must drive producers crazy
T
02/06/2016 10:18
 Emika Interview MT

EM: I always have the feeling like I never really
know sound, because theres always something
new to discover or hear. Its a little bit disorienting,
because you feel like you know your music and
then you change speakers and realise youre totally
dependent on what you had. You need to take a lot of
time to get to know a pair of speakers and give them
a chance. I think that microphones, headphones and
pre-amps really need a lot of time; you cant just
turn them on, listen to a few tracks and decide you
dont like them. With a synthesiser or a plug-in,
theyre supposed to show you something thats
immediately identifiable. But with speakers, you
need to listen to loads of different music on them,
and its the same with mics, you have to trial them
out with loads of different preamps and work out
how hard you can push preamps, or how hot you can
make something.
MT: What advice do you have in terms of acoustics?
EM: I dont believe there is this perfect sweet spot
there are much bigger things that you need to
consider, regarding how you feel and how the room
feels. I pretty much never sit in a sweet spot when
Im working, anyway, because Im always moving
around the room.
MT: You did a great cover of a David Bowie track,
Lets Dance. Was that your own tribute to him?
EM: That was from the time when I worked with
Hank Shocklee, who produced Public Enemy. He said
to me, do a cover, do a cover!, so I did Lets Dance.
I sent it over to him to ask what he thought, and he
pitched the whole thing down and sent it back
saying, its done now, what do you think? I just
thought it was really weird the way he took the
track and pitched it down, but really cool.
Hes a smart guy. Id just made this really polite
cover, with nice synth pads and a nice beat and
vocals It was kind of boring, so he really
destroyed it.
MT: What effect did Bowies passing have on you?
EM: To be honest, I kind of blanked out the whole
thing. It was too much for me to handle. I have the
same birthday as him, the new album was out
and then he died. Everyone around me was really
sad, even my lawyers who Id never had a personal
conversation with before. I felt like business just
stopped. Any time I saw something on Instagram or
posters for the album in Berlin, Id just walk past
them. I tried to watch a bit of his video for Lazarus,
but when I saw the image of him in the bed I had to
turn it off. I wanted to listen to the record, but I
cant. Its stopped being a fantasy now, but art made
from death Im not ready for that yet. David Bowie,
hes always been there theres nobody else in the
world in that league. MT

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MT160.INT Emika.indd 33 02/06/2016 10:17

 MT Interview EKKOES

MT First Cut Ekkoes

In the first of an occasional series of interviews with new bands, we talk to

Dave Fawbert from new band EKKOES about producing their first album
Elekktricity and touring with none other than The Human League

W
e get so many requests from bands
asking us to interview them at
MusicTech that weve decided to
relent and let some of the new talent
shine through! So, without further
ado, heres a brand-new feature in MusicTech,
called First Cut, where we open our studio doors to
new bands and get them to reveal all. For this first
outing, we have the UK-based act EKKOES, a trio
comprising singers Jon Beck and Rosalee OConnell,
and Dave Fawbert on keyboards, guitar and
programming, and whose debut album Elekktricity
is out now
MusicTech: So tell us about EKKOES Where did
you come from and where are you going to?
Dave Fawbert: Ive been making music ever since I
was about five with the piano first, then bass, then
guitar. I was lucky to learn the piano, as it gives you
such a great overview of the whole musical range of
things; you can visualise your top, mid and low
range of notes quite easily. My most natural
instrument is definitely the bass, though, and this
again helps on the production side of things.
Youre used to being the bedrock of the sound and
watching how others build on top of it, and its rare
that youre the focus of things, so youre more
concerned about the whole thing balancing (unless
youre playing funk, then all bets are off).
There are a lot of great producers who are
bassists at heart Mr Trevor Horn of course being
one of them. But after a spell in the industry as an
A&R scout, where I learnt a lot about production, I
started producing for my own band, EKKOES, and

34 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.INT Ekkoes.indd 34 02/06/2016 12:11

 EKKOES Interview MT

after a lot of hard work, here we are, about to release
our debut, self-produced album.
MT: Describe the EKKOES sound?
DF: With EKKOES, Id like to think our stuff is epic,
dynamic, warm, instant, but detailed. Its perhaps
not so fashionable in most electronica, but when
things go big, I like them to go epic its hard to beat
M83 for an example of this style. Dynamics are
all-too-often forgotten in these days of brick-wall
mastering, but the quieter you can afford to go in
some sections, the louder others will sound. Im a
pop writer at heart, so something being instant is
crucial, particularly in these days of limitless choice
you have to grab the listener and grab them quick.
But you should never forget the detail, too. This is
what will keep people coming back to those songs
time and again. That little part you didnt notice
until the 25th listen: those parts are important.
MUSIC PRODUCTION
MT: How does a typical track come together?
DF: You can never say for sure where something will
come from it could be a cool verse melody, it could
be a massive chorus hook, it could be a keyboard
riff, it could be a chord sequence or a bassline. I do
find that rhythms always seem to bring something
out, though so I usually just trawl through for a
cool drum loop, get it going and then see what
EKKOES the 80s influence
is strong with this one, with
a synth-pop sound that fits into
the lineage of New Order and
The Human League
can make a track work however you do it! If you
In these days of limitless
choice, you have to grab the
listener and grab them quick
happens. Once youre off, you just keep going until
you reach a dead end and hopefully, that comes once
you have a full song rather than just one section!
MT: How do you approach the role of producer in
the studio?
DF: These days, there is no definition. Its whoever
pick the right four bars of the right track to sample
and simply loop it for three minutes and everyone
goes nuts, then all power to you! You dont need to
be technical to be a great producer, you just have to
make great music.
From watching others and the experience I have,
being a producer is a simple job: its about getting
the absolute best out of every musician, making
them all feel involved and inspired, adding your
own spin when required, and leaving the hell alone
when required. Sonically, it really depends what
youre working with. Sometimes, perfection and
constant refinement is what is needed; sometimes

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MT160.INT Ekkoes.indd 35 02/06/2016 12:11

 MT Interview EKKOES

you need that raw, edgy energy. The most important

thing is to always get on with people, and to make a
good cup of tea. No studio functions without it.

MT: What would you say your input is within a

typical project?
DF: With EKKOES, Ill come up with a 75-per-cent
finished backing and an idea for a chorus melody at
least, and then take it to the other guys for them to
come in and give input into arrangement, lyrics,
melody and the general feel. Our singer Jon is very
good indeed at being honest on whether somethings
working or not, or whether something needs to be
better. Were very hard on ourselves you have to be
with the competition out there.

OTHER GEAR
MT: Tell us a little about the most important parts
of your studio setup
DF: I came into production and programming very
late on I was always more of a performer and
arranger and I didnt even learn MIDI until seven
or eight years ago. I started on Cubase on the PC
before changing over to Logic on the Mac. Cubase is
far from the coolest workstation these days, but it
had some great sounds on the in-built soft synths.
ADVICE
MT: What top advice do you have for working in
the studio and making music?
DF: Never, ever underestimate the importance of
fresh ears. The amount of times Ive left a mix at
3am thinking its the greatest production since
Welcome To The Pleasuredome, then woken up in
the morning to give it one last listen and it sounds
completely different usually a lot worse than I
remember. And thats because when youre mixing,
you get lost in the minutae of it all, pretty much
missing the wood for the trees. Put in the work,
but equally, take rests, take time away, and come
back to things. Dont rush the process.
Also, never forget the power of a good
tambourine, for instant chorus energy; or triangle
loop, for ear candy. Motown pretty much built an
empire on tambourines.
MT: And what advice do you have from your
experiences so far in the music industry?
DF: Edit, edit and when you think youve finished
editing, edit some more. The amount of demos I
used to hear that had long intros and long gaps
between sections that were just unnecessary
people just dont have the time, so theyll switch
off before they get to the good bit. With every bar,
you have to ask: Does it need to be there? Is it
adding anything to the song? Remember, most of
the listening public relate to the vocal, so dont
have indulgent instrumental sections unless
absolutely required. Ive edited so many songs
down the years from 4:30, or 5:00 down to 3:20,
and theyve lost nothing in the process in fact,
they have often gained, because theyre punchier,
more to-the-point and more impactful.
MT: What are your favourite sound tools synths,
guitars etc and why?
DF: All instruments should be considered. You just
never know until youre knee-deep in a track whats
going to work, sonically, but obviously for EKKOES,
synths, programmed drums, guitars and percussion
are our bedrock. The Embracer soft-synth pad on
Cubase was utterly epic, and on Logic, Blue Carpet
is a constant go-to for that soft layer of melancholy.
Waves Element is very powerful and then theres the
soft synth Crystal, that has got some great bonkers
With every bar, you have to ask:
Does it need to be there? Is it
adding anything to the song?
sounds for ear candy.
I love that combination of the sleekness and
precision of electronics with the humanity of
guitar work, so I always use guitar where I can
and you should never forget the range of timbres
and sounds a guitar can make: palm-muting/
picking/power chords and all the rest. Treat it like
a synthesiser in its own way and you might be
surprised with the results. Also, arpeggiators give
energy to everything.
MT: And for outboard, what hardware or software
effects do you use?
DF: I like to mix as Im going along if it sounds
good already, its more likely to inspire you into a
bigger performance of the next part so I like to
have a good arsenal of mix tools at hand. The CLA
Waves series is basically one-click sparkle and
Waves Vitamin is an incredibly simple and easy way
to add oomph and sheen to your sound.
MT: What is on your wish list, studio-gear wise?
DF: Just ever more plug-ins, of course! But really, I

36 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

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 EKKOES Interview MT

have so many already that Ive only scratched the
surface of them, and its better to fully control and
understand a small number of tools than to have
thousands that you dont really use properly.
MT: What would you like to see developed in terms
of studio technology and why?
DF: Its genuinely staggering to me to see how
powerful and affordable home-studio tech is
these days. Its not so long ago an eight-track tape
recorder was the most anyone could aspire to
without spending thousands of pounds a day. While
things can always improve, tech-wise, its really a
case of what you do with all this magic at our
fingertips now.
YOUR LATEST PROJECT PLUG TIME!
MT: Tell us about the new EKKOES album?
DF: Our debut album is called Elekktricity and were
very proud of it. Its taken us a long time and, as I
mentioned earlier, we wanted to create something
instant, but with depth. There are hooks and strong
melodies throughout, its sonically epic and varied,
and we hope underneath it all, the songwriting is
strong. We really wanted to create something
long-lasting and with quality: something classic
like Pet Shop Boys Please, or something more
contemporary like the last, brilliant, Tegan And
Sara record, Heartthrob.
(l to r): EKKOES vocalists
Jon Beck and Rosalee OConnell,
with Dave Fawbert providing
keys, guitar, programming,
composition and production
MT: What do you have planned for the band in the
near future?
DF: The album was out early May, and well be doing
a few shows over the summer and then, in the
Autumn, well be touring Europe and the UK with
The Human League, which will be pretty special
we cant wait for that!
MT: How did that come about?
DF: It was as a result of us sharing management
with the band, so we were quite lucky. Our manager
Simon has managed them for quite a while and we
were so impressed with the way theyve become,
rightly, an absolute beacon of songwriting and
soundcraft, and pioneers for almost everyone who
loves electronic music theyve always stayed cool
and respected. Simon heard our music, came to
see us at a gig and then offered to take us on,
which we accepted. The Human League dont tour
often though, so it didnt come up for a while, but
obviously when the dates started getting pencilled
in, we put ourselves forward, and were honoured to
have been accepted on to do all the UK shows and
even some of the European ones too. Its going to be
crazy Human League fans should be a perfect fit
for the sort of stuff we do, so hopefully, we can
convert a good few of them into fans. And the
Sheffield homecoming show should be particularly
special, of course MT

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MT Hardware Workshop Creating kick sounds with a Modular
Creating kick
sounds with a
Modular synth
Dave Gale continues his monthly look at the Eurorack
world and unravels the best starting point for creating
great-sounding electronic drums
I
t has to be said that drums are possibly the single
most common and (debatably) important factor in
electronic music. For many, the sound of the drums
used on a track will almost serve as a date-stamp
for when a track was produced. So, why is this? Well,
in the same way that the computer you have on your
desk (or now, more likely, tablet on your knee!) will give
us a clue as to the year, so will the sonic signature of the
drums on a track.
Old favourites
And so it came to pass that Roland made many drum
machines in the late-70s and early 80s two of which
were deemed obsolete and out-of-date within a few
years of production, thanks to the onslaught of the
digital sampling age. This meant that many bedroom
producers bought them cheaply in the late-80s, and the
rest, as they say, is scribed in musical history.
As many of us know, vintage 808s and 909s still
seem to cost a small fortune, yet us Eurorack folk can
create more than a passing resemblance to the original,
with a little thought and knowhow. We can even evolve
them into something completely different in character,
which might inspire new musical directions.
Lets spend some time looking at one of the most
basic and simple sounds to make the kick or bass
drum. The original kick analogue circuit of the 808
started with a sound that was sinusoidal, that is to say
that there was very limited harmonic content. In a
sense, this statement is incorrect; a fundamental sine
wave should have just the one harmonic, the
fundamental but, thanks to age, and wear-and-tear of
the analogue circuitry, all sorts of overtones can creep
into the sound, often manifesting themselves as
harmonic overtones. You could take three 808s, put
them side by side and they would all sound different, so
MT160.TUT Kick Sounds.indd 41
Creating kick sounds with a Eurorack Modular Technique MT
SYNTH
SPECIAL
what were looking to do here is just summon the spirit
of the original vintage machines, rather than create an
absolute facsimile.
Testing tones with testosterone
You could turn to an oscillator with a triangle- or
sine-wave capability, and use this as your starting point
for an 808-style kick; or a more common approach that
many use is to turn to a self-oscillating filter. You will
know if you have a self-oscillating filter if you slowly
turn the resonance control on your filter all the way up,
and then turn your cut-off frequency control, making
sure that the filter output is heading in the direction of
The sound of the drums used on
a track will serve as a date-stamp
for when a track was produced
your VCA, with an open play-through channel. At this
point, you will hopefully hear some feedback, in the
shape of a sine wave or similar (watch the volume
sine waves can be destructive, so keep the level low to
start with). Apart from hearing the sine tone, you will
also be able to shift the pitch using the cut-off
frequency control. This means you can tune the tone,
which will be your kick sound. This was something that
the original 808 was unable to do (it was a popular
misconception that you could, thanks to later software
emulations). Once you have this confirmation, itll
probably be best to defeat the volume on the VCA, as
the next thing to do will be to route your ADSR envelope
in the direction of the gate on the VCA. Now make sure
that you have a very quick attack time, followed by a
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 41
02/06/2016 09:14
 MT Technique Creating kick sounds with a Eurorack Modular
FILTER ENVELOPE
Cut off Attack Decay
Resonance Sustain Release
AUDIO GATE CV
Input Output Input Output
Add white noise
(if required)
pretty quick decay (no sustain is required here), so
that when you trigger your envelope, you will hear
something drum-like. It might sound more like a tom
than a kick, in which case you would be advised to
lower the cut off to an appropriate lower frequency. You
may also need to play with the AD envelope settings to
make sure theyre just right. Bear in mind that different
styles of music will require different settings. If hip-hop
is your bag, a nice, long decay tail will be the order of
the day. If youre more into electronica, try something
short in length, with more of a tight thud.
Another intriguing experiment to try is to route the
same envelope in the direction of the cut-off frequency
on the filter. The envelope will now also control the
pitch, via the cut off, but you may want to dial in less of
this, so that the pitch change is not too drastic. Use of a
second envelope might be wise here, too, so that you
can have independent control over the pitch of the
note, and the amplitude decay tail.
Now that you have your basics, its time to think
about where to go from here. It has to be said that for
many, part of the beauty of the modular is the ability
to do things differently from the architecture of a
traditional mono-synth. Not being the greatest DIY
person myself, I tend to think of my modular as my
garden shed I make things with it, and stand proudly
back when I have a sound which I am satisfied with, in
much the same way that one might if you had built a
table, in the aforementioned shed.
An absolute port-of-call for experimentation should
be some form of distortion, and these can take many
guises these days. There are the obvious distortions
which are akin to guitar pedals, but one place where us
Euro folk like to go is in the direction of the bitcrusher.
Now, I have to be honest and say that my flavour of
bitcrushing and distortion tends to be more DAW
based, as I liked having the control in production.
However, great results can be achieved with the likes of
TOPTIPS FOR MODULES
An obvious option for getting great drum sounds is to look at some
of the production modules that are available, often cloned with
very similar circuitry to the vintage units we all lust after. Probably
the leader in this field is Tiptop Audio, which has an ever-growing
supply of drum modules, all of which are designed to cater to the
musician wanting 808/909-style sounds. Thankfully, they often go
beyond this remit, offering greater control over CV, and they do
sound pretty damn good while costing a fraction of the price of a
vintage 808 or 909.
42 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.TUT Kick Sounds.indd 42
AMPLIFIER SNAPPY ENVELOPES
(VCA)
Most envelopes will do the job for kick purposes pretty well. Ive
Playthrough used Pittsburghs, Moogs, Rolands, all to great effect, but I have to
= Level pot say that one of the snappiest envelopes that Ive ever come across
is the Tiptop Audio Z4000. This envelope is perfect for percussion
sounds, as the front end has so much control. You can get clicking if
CV Input = Jack socket you want it, but also back it off with enormous flexibility, until you
get it just right. Perfect for that killer kick
AUDIO
Input Output the Roland Bitrazor and the Pittsburgh Modular Crush.
These units will dismantle the bit-structure of your
kick, adding punch, crunchiness and an overwhelming
number of overtones, which you then might ironically
To mixer /
audio Interface want to pass through another filter, to get rid of too
much colour in the top end. It just depends on what you
are after.
Its also worth coming back to the starting point and
considering which filter you might use for your kick.
Why? Well, some have an overdrive facility, or naturally
overdrive themselves. A good example of a first call
filter for your kick would be the Make Noise MMG.
This vactrol-based filter overdrives at the front end,
meaning that the sine tones immediately appear
colourful, in that wonderful way that we all like. By
inputting some white noise to the filter, as well as
overloading the resonance to feed back, further colours
Its so satisfying to be able to
make something from scratch
that will offer some uniqueness
can be introduced. The Dave Smith DSM01 Curtis Filter
self-oscillates in -24dB mode, and the drive switch
overdrives at the input stage, offering more wonderful
colouration for kick purposes.
Above all, the satisfaction of creating something
from scratch is overwhelming, and while Im often guilty
of reaching for an 808 or 909 kick, its so nice to be able
to make something from scratch that will offer some
uniqueness to your composition. MT
Top left: Filter output to VCA, with gating controlled by
the envelope
Below left: The MMG is a great-sounding, self-oscillating
filter, perfect for kicks and more besides
Below: Reincarnation of the classic the Tiptop Audio 808
kick, without tuning, just like the original
02/06/2016 09:14
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 MT Technique Live In Depth Part 5

Ableton Live Live In Depth Part 5 On the disc

Accompanying
project file included

Getting the
on the DVD

best out of the

Simpler instrument
Live 9.5 introduced a massive update to Simpler. Its included with all versions of Live 9,
so its something we all have in common. Martin Delaney loads it up

I
t was a surprise when Ableton announced Live 9.5 and
Push 2 last year. Part of the surprise was that a major
development like the release of Push 2 only came with a
point release, rather than something more grandiose
like Live 10. However, the improvements and additions in
9.5 are available to everybody for free. The new update to
Simpler, for example, is installed in every version of Live
Intro, Standard, and Suite because its essential for drum
racks and at least basic sample playback. So as long as
you have Live 9, youll get the new Simpler. Check your
Ableton user account for updates, if you havent already.
Our subject for this tutorial, then, is the rebuild of Simpler,
Lives core sampling-playback instrument device.
Although Simpler has gone big in features, its still very
easy to navigate. I guess there was no way Ableton could
squeeze it all into one panel, so there are now tabs for
Sample and Controls. As Live has matured from the early
days (when it was easy to fit simple device interfaces into
that narrow bar at the bottom of the screen), its got harder
and harder to fit everything in you see this particularly
with some third-party Max For Live devices, which really
struggle to include so many non-standard interface
elements. As well as the two tabs, theres a lower control
bar of common and global controls which are always
visible, and a click of the triangle in the title bar opens
the waveform display out into a larger window.
Apart from the design refresh, there are two
significant changes to Simpler. Firstly, it now does
warping within the device! Secondly, it has three
different playback modes, which between them give us a
huge range of playback options. Sensibly, Simpler defaults
to Classic mode, where it behaves most like the Simpler
were used to. As far as I know, you can expect 100-per-
cent compatibility with Simpler settings from your earlier
Live projects; Ive heard nothing to suggest otherwise. I
recommend you use a MIDI keyboard when youre playing
around with Simpler so you can get the whole range of
what it can do, rather than firing clips or tapping your
computer keys. Classic Simpler works as it always has:
transpose and relaunching the sample as you go, and of
course, its polyphonic you can play chords with your
sample. 1-Shot mode is monophonic only; youd likely use
this for one-off audio FX and hits, speech samples and
so on, and if you ever need to launch really long samples
without starting Lives transport running, this is the way to
do it. Both of these modes are great for keyboardists who
like to launch samples, as you can easily set up an
instrument rack which contains Simplers set to both types
of mode, creating a split keyboard that does loop launching
as well as one shots.

FOCUS ON: OTHER SAMPLERS?

Is it even worth looking at alternative samplers for Live? Well,
alternative tools can give you a new perspective, so lets put it
another way: if you were going to add another sampler to your Live
rig, which one would it be? On the software side, Mac users have the
super-basic AU Sampler plug-in already installed, Akais MPC
software runs as an AU/VST within Live, and of course, theres the big
boy, NIs Kontakt. For an affordable hardware solution, you could try
something like Korgs electribe sampler, a standalone device, which
can also create Ableton Live projects.

44 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MTF42.TUT live4.indd 44 01/06/2016 09:36


MT Step-by-Step The new Simpler
Our example Live project includes some audio samples for you to
01 use in this tutorial and experiment with after. You need Live 9.5 or
above, so if youre using an earlier version of 9, grab the free upgrade.
To organise the expanded features, Simpler has two tabs:
03 Sample and Controls. In Sample, you handle playback of the
audio sample; Controls relates to filter, LFO, and envelope functions.
When warpings on, this beat will stay in sync as you change your
05 project tempo up and down. Try it. All of Lives usual warp modes
are available to you; Beats is good for this one.
Simpler also has velocity-to-volume response, so you
can get a deeper performance vibe from your keys. Slice is
the mode Ive been spending most time playing with I just
get a kick out of loading samples and having them sliced
automatically and ready to play. If you like Slice To New
MIDI Track but dont need individual audio processing for
each slice, and you just want to play back the bits in a
MTF42.TUT live4.indd 45
Live In Depth Part 5 Technique MT
Simplers in every version of Live 9 Intro, Standard, and Suite
02 which is one reason why its so useful. The update includes new
playback modes, new filters, and a new interface layout. Load it now!
Drop the audio clip called Beat 1 onto Simpler. By default, itll be
04 in Classic mode. Play any MIDI note on your keyboard, and itll
play, looped, and pitched according to what note you selected.
The second mode is 1-Shot samples wont loop when you use
06 this one, so its less useful for our beats example in this case, but
youll get the idea. Warping still works!
different order, use this. I mentioned warping inside
Simpler earlier, and this is present no matter what mode
youre in. Whatever kind of material youre using, you can
keep it time-stretched and synced with your project. Its
not some kind of low-rent warping, either, as you can select
all of the usual warp modes, and access the controls for
each: Grain Size for Tones, Formats for Complex Pro, etc.
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 45
01/06/2016 09:36
 MT Technique Live In Depth Part 5
MT Step-by-Step The new Simpler (contd)
Note theres a Trigger/Gate option, so the 1-shot will either play in
07 its entirely after you release the note, or else it will only play for as
long as you hold the note down.
Slices are created according to transients; use the Sensitivity
09 slider to edit (lower values = larger slices), or drag the orange
vertical dividers left or right, or double-click to insert manual dividers.
Its always advisable to check the context menu when youre
11 exploring new features. Right-click on the waveform and youve
got a Normalise Volumes command, as well as Slice To Drum Rack.
We cant discuss this new-model Simpler without
mentioning Push 2 it sure feels like one is intimately
related to the other. Now we can see waveforms on the
Push display, and browse and load samples into Simpler
from the Push controls: it creates a more self-contained
hardware-sampler vibe, and not just for drums. Push
doesnt currently allow for loading of audio samples
46 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MTF42.TUT live4.indd 46
Finally, theres Slice. Now when you send MIDI to Simpler, it
08 triggers individual slices instead of the entire beat! No manual
configuration is needed, but its there if you want it.
Drop the bass part audio clip into Simpler, replacing the beat, and
10 see how that slices. Use your MIDI keyboard to rearrange the
slices. This is a great, fast way to use individual notes from a sample.
Click the Controls tab and you can play with the filter. Of course
12 Simpler includes Lives new filters, so try something like Lowpass
OSR with Frequency at a 850Hz and Res at 70 per cent.
directly into clip slots, so this is a fantastic workaround for
that. Load the audio content straight into Simpler and you
can tweak away with Push, with full control of device
parameters and sample playback, like Loop start/end/
length/transposition everything you need.
Simpler has grown up. Ive always appreciated its
straightforward layout and complexity, and the update has
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 MT Technique Live In Depth Part 5
MT Step-by-Step The new Simpler (contd)
The spacious layout continues with the LFO display. Its easy to
13 visualise whats going on and to set the LFO rate to 1/16ths and
point it at the filters cutoff. Try a value around 8.00.
Being a Live device, virtually every control in Simpler can be
15 automated. Create an empty MIDI clip and have a look at the
list in the Envelopes Box. Automating Filter Type changes is cool.
Its not like Simpler has stopped working with Push 1. Itll be
17 visible and available in the more traditional way, and of course
controllable via the encoders, but you wont get the waveform display.
successfully made a lot of changes without comprising the
accessibility of it and two tabs was definitely the way to go.
You can do almost everything you need in a Live project
with Simpler now, including launching warped samples
and achieve deep integration with Push 2. You can expect
to be using Simpler more than ever, often for times when
you wouldve previously used audio clips. I dont think itll
48 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MTF42.TUT live4.indd 48
The core controls are always visible across the bottom of Simpler,
14 so even if youre working on the slices in your waveform, you can
still reach down and grab the filter or change global settings.
Push 2 integration is probably the main reason that Simpler got
16 refreshed to help make better use of that cute new display, and
to help P2 behave and feel more like a standalone hardware sampler.
The new Simpler is awesome. But if it still doesnt fulfil your
18 needs, right-click on the title bar, and choose Simpler > Sampler,
to open your ongoing work in Lives more sophisticated Sampler device.
impact on your use of Sampler much, though, as both are
equally capable, but with different specialities; Sampler
still rules the roost when it comes to complex multi-
sampling tasks, and importing sample content from other
formats. Other than that, though, with this update and the
Push 2 integration, Simpler is, more than ever, the most
important device in Live. MT
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 MT Technique VCAs, Groups and Aux channels

Technique Logic In Depth Powered by

VCAs, Groups
and Aux channels
Logics three-tier solution to channel grouping seems complicated at first. Mark Cousins
explains all and gives you the lowdown on VCAs, Aux channels and Fader Groups

O
ne of the most confusing recent introductions
to Logic Pro X has been the new VCA faders
system. While the concept of VCAs on a console
will be familiar to many working engineers,
their exact role and function in Logic Pro X isnt
immediately apparent. The confusion stems from the fact
that VCAs are primarily used as a means of grouping
related channels, a task seemingly already addressed by
Aux channels and Fader Groups. So, what do VCA faders
offer that the other two solutions dont, and how best can
you integrate VCA faders into your workflow?
To best understand VCAs, therefore, were going to take
a look a the three main ways you can group related tracks
in your Logic mix: Aux channels, Groups, and VCA faders. As
The catch, however, is if you use send effects (like
On the disc reverb and delay) sent from the original channels strips. In
this configuration, lowering the Aux channel leaves the
reverb floating in the mix, effectively undoing any carefully
Accompanying set ratios between wet and dry signals.
project file included
on the DVD
Group mentality
The solution to the send effects issue, therefore, is the use
of Fader Groups. With Fader Grouping, you effectively lock
the relative position of two or more faders together. Once
placed in the Fader Group, moving one fader will move all
of those in the group at the same time, which in turn, will
also adjust the level of signal
being sent to reverb and delay
in your mix. Obviously, you miss

To understand VCAs, well look out on the Aux channels insert

path, but you do gain a slightly

at the three main ways that you more elegant way of locking
together the key instrument

can group related tracks groups in your mix.

As useful as Fader Groups
are, they also have an
youll see, although the three solutions broadly achieve the important caveat: automation.
same outcome, each brings slightly different benefits into Once you start to write
the equation. Rather than being an either/or solution, the automation into one or more
right combinations of all three solutions are essential to channels in the group, it can
creating a professional mix, especially when youre dealing prove tricky to then go back and
with large track counts. change the relative balance of
the macro mix elements.
Auxiliary reserve In truth, therefore, its best
Probably the first solution for signal grouping in Logic is its to leave automation moves until
Aux channels system also known as bussing or for that the last point of mixing and at
matter, the Track Stack feature. In essence, the Aux that point, accept that the
channels system uses Logics internal bussing system as a Fader Group function might
means of routing the output of one or more faders to the ultimately become somewhat
input of another. You can create an Aux channel either by
changing a channels routing output assignment, or by GROUP AUTOMATION
creating a summing Track Stack. Once routed in this way, One parameter in the Group settings is the Automation Mode,
you can then attenuate or lift the amplitude of all signals which governs how Fader Groups work with automation data.
With the Automation Mode setting active, changing the Automation
routed to that Aux channel simply by raising or lowering Mode between Read, Touch, Write and Latch on one fader will
the fader. change the corresponding Automation Modes on all faders.
Arguably the best, and most important, reason for using Un-checking Automation Mode is useful where you want to write
automation data across the majority of faders in a group, but maybe
an Aux channel is the ability to insert additional signal leave one fader untouched. In this case, change the Automation
processing across its input path a submix of drums, for Mode of the fader you want to leave out of automation (Read is
probably the best mode), while leaving the other faders in either
example, could have a compressor patched across it, or for Touch, Write or Latch.
that matter, some equalisation.

50 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MTF43.TUT Logic VCAs.indd 50 01/06/2016 09:37


MT Step-by-Step Aux channels
There are two ways of creating an Aux channel for a group of
01 faders in your mix. In our example, try selecting the two channel
faders for the drums and change their output assignment from Stereo
Output to a Bus 1.
An alternative solution is to use the Track Stack feature. In this
03 example, select all the synth parts and pick the menu option
Track>Create Track Stack. The end routing is the same, assuming you
pick the Summing stack option.
With the reverb setup, try reducing the level of the Aux channel
05 being used as the drum submix. Notice that the reverb level
stays fixed, irrespective of the Aux channels fader position. Therefore,
dropping the level makes the sound wetter.
redundant (unless, that is, you continue to write and read
automation moves as part of the group).
Voltage controlled
VCA faders, therefore, are another level of channel grouping
that address both caveats of the Aux channel and Fader
Group system. Take the example of the reverb levels in the
Aux channel solution, where the reverb was present in the
mix even if the Aux channel was fully attenuated. With a
MTF43.TUT Logic VCAs.indd 51
VCAs, Groups and Aux channels Technique MT
If the bus is new to the mix, Logic will create a corresponding
02 Aux channel. You can now control the level of the drums from
this single point, as well as adding additional processing via the
Aux channels insert points.
To illustrate the problem with Aux channels, try creating a bus
04 send (to Bus 3, which is currently unused) from the kick-drum
channel. On the newly created Aux channel, patch an instance of
Space Designer, set to a medium-length reverb.
To solve the floating reverb problem, you have two choices.
06 One is to route the reverb output to the same summing bus
(assuming no other channels outside the Aux channel grouping using
the reverb); the other is to use a Fader Group.
VCA fader group, the grouped level control is post any
insert effects, but pre any send effects. Turn down the
VCA fader, therefore, and the reverb and delay send will be
attenuated accordingly.
Turning now to the use of Fader Groups and the use of
automation, we can also see the distinct advantage of VCA
faders. Again, the key is where VCA faders control the level
of grouped channels in this case, trimming the levels
after the application of automation. The point at which you
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 51
01/06/2016 09:37
 MT Technique VCAs, Groups and Aux channels
apply automation therefore becomes irrelevant, as you can
always trim the level at any point in the mix. Indeed, VCAs
are even a great solution for a single channel (like a vocal,
for example) that has a lot of automation moves, but needs
a 1dB global lift in the mix.
One size fits all?
Of course, VCA faders arent the universal panacea to all
channel-grouping requirements. Like Fader Groups, its
MT Step-by-Step Fader Groups
You can place faders into a Fader Group using the Group
01 Assignment slot in the mixer. Done in this way, you can attenuate
the channels and have the reverb level reduced at the same time in
effect, the faders are locked together.
As well as locking the relative fader levels, you can also lock
03 together mutes, pan positions, reverb sends and so on. The H
option on the right-hand side also lets you hide a Fader Group, which
is a handy option for big mixes.
If youre using Fader Groups, remember the keyboard shortcut
05 Shift+G, which works a group clutch key turning the grouping
functionality on and off as appropriate. You can also find the clutch
functionality in the Group Settings window.
52 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MTF43.TUT Logic VCAs.indd 52
impossible to apply any form of processing across the
accompanying VCA master fader so theres no chance of
any bus compression, for example. Its worth noting that
VCA faders are largely the same as the master fader in your
Logic Project, which works as a form of VCA fader on the
main stereo output from Logic. In effect, VCA faders are
nothing more that user-configurable master faders.
Moving back to Fader Groups, the downside would be
the relatively hidden nature of the VCA system. With Fader
Fader Groups have an accompanying dialogue box (select Open
02 Group Settings from the drop-down assignment menu), which
lets you access several additional parts of the Fader Groups
functionality, including the option to name the group.
Grouping is also handy for editing recordings made with multiple
04 mic channels, like a drum kit, for example. Enable Editing
(Selection) in the Group Settings, and any edits made on one region
will be transferred to others in the group.
The clutch functionality is useful when youre using automation.
06 Toggling the groups lets you move individual channels, or write in
automation moves across a whole group of faders. Post automation,
though, adjusting the grouped levels can be tricky.
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 MT Technique VCAs, Groups and Aux channels
Groups, the relative instrument levels are what you see; but
with VCAs not moving the faders, channel-fader positions
only become a partial indicator of the final mix levels.
So theres still a reason to use all three systems weve
described. We usually start using Fader Groups, both as
means of controlling grouped instrument levels, but also
for speedier editing across multiple regions. Aux channels
come into play as you move on to mixing, especially where
signals need a touch of bus compression and equalisation.
MT Step-by-Step VCA faders
The VCA assignment slot is found towards the bottom of a
01 channel fader (check View>Channel Strip Components, if you
cant see it). Simply select the channels and assign them a VCA, just
as you would a Fader Group.
The VCA controls the channels signal levels post insert
03 processing (as shown on the individual channel meters),
but pre any form of FX/bus sends. This means the relative reverb
levels remain intact as you raise or lower the VCA fader.
If you want to dynamically alter VCA balance in the mix, consider
05 the use of automation on the VCA channels. To automate the
VCA channel, place it in Touch mode and Logic will create a new
accompanying track lane in the arrange area.
54 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MTF43.TUT Logic VCAs.indd 54
Finally, VCAs are real godsend as a mix grows in size and
you need a realistic means of controlling grouped levels,
especially after automation has been applied. MT
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The VCA masters are found on the right-hand side of the mixer.
02 They work in a similar way to the Master fader so there are no
Insert effects, but you do get a level control, as well as solo and mute.
Another important note about VCAs is that they adjust signal
04 levels post automation, providing an important means of level
adjustment, even if youve written in fader moves previously. So you
might therefore even use a VCA on a single channel.
For a tidier mix, consider removing some of the Audio and Instr
06 tracks, leaving just the Aux master faders and/or VCA groups.
Remove the required element using the boxes in the top right-hand
corner of the mixer area.
01/06/2016 09:37
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 MT Technique Songwriting SOS
MT Workshop Music Composition Tutorial Part 2
Songwriting SOS
Weve all been there, struggling to finish that future classic hit or even just to get
started on the first note Sometimes, a dose of inspiration is needed to beat the
block. Andy Price takes a look at the best songwriting stimulants out there
L
ast time, we dissected the basic rudiments of
songwriting from the gear and equipment you
need to get your song ideas down, the idea of
hooks and top-line melodies and the artistry of
songwriting. However, all that assumed that the
person reading was an explosive volcano of creative ideas
with a new song or three already conceptualised.
We all know that songwriting isnt that easy, and indeed,
most of us will take several months (maybe even years) off
creating anything new. There are many reasons for this. The
drive to create is quite an overriding, important factor that
comes and goes, which is particularly frustrating when
midway though writing a song. Perhaps youve crafted a
brilliant verse, one that youve spent some time mixing and
enhancing to perfection, yet the chorus completely eludes
you, creating an unbreakable wall that prevents you from
writing anything else?
Whatever the reason, writers block affects all of us in
different ways. Even the most lauded of songwriters run
into it. David Bowie dealt with creative blocks by cutting
apart lines and quotes from books, rearranging them in a
different order and creating songs either using those
words, or lyrics inspired by the words.
The principle behind that example is that occasionally
presenting yourself with words (or indeed sounds) that you
wouldnt otherwise use can be very inspiring, and refreshes
your creative palette. Luckily, were no longer in the 1970s,
and digital songwriters have so much assistance at their
disposal that writers block should be consigned to the
past. But still we struggle The problem is, many music
makers tend to get used to writing songs in a certain way,
becoming tied in to a methodical writing format which
though it may produce very worthy material if youre not
aware its happening, then before too long, it can make you
always aim for the same chord patterns, song structures
and melodies. Challenging yourself by presenting obstacles
and fresh approaches can really inspire you to bypass your
tried-and-trusted songwriting approach.
FOCUS ON FIRST AID
Way back in the sepia-tinted days of 2014, I wrote a piece for MusicTech which
highlighted some useful songwriting plug-ins and programs. These included the
(still available and recommended) ChordPolyPad, Chordion and Chordbot. A mere two
years later, and it seems that there are hundreds more essential tools at your disposal.
Hookpad is a free songwriting suite which helps to select chords and find the
perfect melody (hooktheory.com/hookpad). Tunesmith is an all-in-one package with
which you can completely organise and manage your songs, both musically and
lyrically (rhymegenie.com/tunesmith.html); while RoadWriter (available on Google
Play) and Apples Music Memos are aimed at mobile musicians and are perhaps the
most straightforward to use check them all out if you can.
56 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.TUT Cubase.indd 56
Requirements
Our DAW Songwriting
features are
illustrated using
Cubase, but you can
apply the principles
to whichever
DAW you use.
Talent borrows, genius steals
A simple, but effective, exercise to get a new song off the
ground pretty quickly is to take an existing songs chord
structure and change the top-line melody to something
different. This will require you to learn the song in question
but luckily for us, chords and notation for pretty much
everything ever recorded can be found online.
There are many things you can do with these chords
aside from just changing the top-line melody. You can
reconfigure the chords into a new pattern (since generally
they should be in the same key), try playing them
backwards or changing the root chord. Youll be amazed by
how different a slight chordal tweak can make a song.
Alternatively, you can keep the top-line melody of a song
and transplant it to a different chord sequence. Half of the
time, it wont sit well at all, however, once you get that
perfect combo, youve got the genesis of a brand-new song.
This method can not only result in a great song, but
songs which sound so drastically different to the original
that no-one would ever believe it had been written using
this method. It can also importantly inspire you to
create completely new compositions from scratch. Playing
with chords and melody this way is almost the songwriters
version of Scrabble: getting your mind in the zone and
more aware of whats possible with songwriting.
Yet in these uncertain times when the (legal) debate
about musical plagiarism rages, if you do keep a chord
structure from another song, just please dont mention
MusicTech when the Supreme Court comes a knocking!
Learning curve
A certain degree of music-theory education is presumed
here at MusicTech, yet its all too apparent to us that many
songwriters, including some of the most prestigious, dont
actually have any formal musical training, or indeed really
01/06/2016 14:20

MT Step-by-Step Inspire with Chord Tracks and Chord
Open Cubase, and create a brand-new project, then under Add
01 Track, click Chord and your chord track will be created.
To use an instrument of your choice and monitor the chords, you
03 need to add an instrument track by clicking Devices > VST
Instruments and below your Chord Track. Youll have an instrument
track. Weve used Halion Sonic SE which comes as part of Cubase.
We can tweak the voicing of the chords and also the genre were
05 going to be recording: to do this, we can simply adjust in the drop-
downs in the inspector menu of the Chord Track.
grasp the difference between keys. Many songwriters rely
on instinct, and, if great music is being made that way, then
who are we to quibble?
But, to those instinct-led songwriters who have hit the
aforementioned wall and are finding it difficult to write
new things, might we politely suggest that you do a bit of
theoretical research into chords, keys and the relationships
between them? Armed with this knowledge, its far easier
to know just which chords will work with others before you
even pick up your instrument (or sit at your computer).
Knowing what key your songs are in is an important
first step and you may be surprised by how much youve
unconsciously picked up over the years. Youll probably
discover that youd adhered to keys and basic songwriting
form naturally, as thats basically what sounds good to the
human ear. Chords put together from opposing keys can
MT160.TUT Cubase.indd 57
Songwriting SOS Technique MT
To hear your chords, youre going to need an instrument. Its
02 probably better in the compositional stage to choose a basic
piano sound.
We now need to associate the Chord Track with the added
04 instrument. Click Use Monitored Tracks on your Chord Track and
a drop-down menu will appear. Select the required instrument.
It really helps here to have a MIDI instrument attached (even if
06 youre intending on recording live instruments later), to enable
you to easily input and adjust the chords manually.
sound massively disharmonious, and even the most
inexperienced of songwriters will generally stick to which
chords sound nice together.
Getting to know and to memorise your favourite keys
will help you to get through the familiar struggle of not
knowing where to go when padding out simple musical
ideas. Theres a feature on MusicTech.net (musictech.
net/2014/11/songwriting-2) which dissects the intricacies
of keys in great detail. Its recommended that you read it to
give you a better overview of the relationship between keys,
fifths, and how to use them to create worthy compositions.
Cu-basics
Though every DAW has tools designed to assist you when
youre composing, Cubase seems purpose-built to
accommodate the struggling songwriter. Chord Track can
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 57
01/06/2016 14:21
 MT Technique Songwriting SOS
MT Step-by-Step Inspire with Chord Tracks and Chord (contd)
We can now easily draw in chord boxes using the pencil tool.
07 These boxes will serve as a clear guide, and an overview of the
chords of the composition youll build with your instrument.
Add four chords Weve now got the introduction to something,
09 at least! This approach to starting your compositions can get you
writing in new ways that you wouldnt normally consider when writing
using your instrument.
Chord Assistant offers chords that will fit naturally with your root
11 the sequences on offer are presented in different hues of green
(the brighter the green, the more likely the chords are to fit with the
root). Complexity can be adjusted from simple (1) to more unusual (7).
help you to create new chord arrangements that otherwise
would be too physically demanding with your instrument,
or just add chords that you wouldnt automatically plump
for. Using the pencil tool, you can add chord boxes on the
chord track
Using any plug-in instrument, you can play the chord
sequence back, try it with guitar, piano, synth or even with
strings. It offers the functionality to change between
different inversions and positions of the same chord, to
hear things a little differently to how youd normally play
them. This can be done across multiple tracks and really
has provided a lifeline in the past, when our compositions
have started to sound chordally dull and repetitive.
Another quite useful compositional aid in the Cubase
arsenal is the scale suggestion feature of ChordTrack.
58 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.TUT Cubase.indd 58
Initially, these chord boxes bear a giant X by clicking on these,
08 we are presented with the Chord Editor. Here, we can manually
add in chords, which our instrument track will auto-generate.
You might find that the correct assortment of chords doesnt
10 seem to be materialising naturally. So we can open up the
ever-useful Chord Assistant feature by clicking the tab within the
Chord Editor pop-up.
Using a Chord Track, Chord Editor and the Assistant, you can
12 easily come up with all kinds of compositions that you wouldnt
otherwise think of when using your DAW alone. We recommend you
give it a try when youre facing that creative brick wall.
Using scale suggestion, you can rifle through the various
different scale approaches that are consistent with the
chord sequence youve created.
Tool up
Ultimately, though, regardless of what toolset you use to
record and create, its extremely important that you keep
yourself challenged as a songwriter. As digital-music
producers, were lucky to have so many useful apps and
tools at our disposal to help keep our creativity stimulated.
Boredom with your writing approach is perhaps the
number-one reason why we hit those creative walls so
it stands to reason that shaking things up a little bit can
yield not just new material, but a whole new level of
excitement for the greatest creative pursuit of all. MT
01/06/2016 14:21
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MusicTech.indd 2 25.05.2016 16:24:45

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500 user and 500
factory presets
the pressure is on and it had better be good. Andy Jones tried it at NAMM
in 10 banks of
100 each
and has been rubbing his hands waiting for it to arrive ever since
Two VCOs/voice

S
Cont. variable
o it turns out that being Prophet-6 a full 10/10 just a few you were either a Sequential synth
wave shape
Osc 1 syncs really excited about months ago) and we love Oberheims head or an Oberheim synth head. In
to osc 2 something can make one synths (I am the very happy owner of an 2016, you can be both
Square-wave break the law. Okay, not in a
sub (osc 1); LFO
mode (osc 2)
Mixer for osc 1,
lock him up and throw away the key
kind of way, but I was so excited when I This is the synth equivalent of
Bowie meeting Jagger. Better
osc 2, sub and heard about this synth that I actually
noise
broke into entered the NAMM show
2-pole resonant
filter per voice
Filter and Amp
envelopes
early to get pictures of it. Crazy, eh?
I risked everything for you, dear than that: Bowie meeting Eno
MusicTech readers. And OB-6 went on
feature
4-stage ADSR to be our product of that NAMM show SE SEM, too). This, then, is the synth So you get the point. And this kind of
with velocity back in January. The excitement caused equivalent of Bowie meeting Jagger. No meeting is rare in our studio-gear world.
modulation
by it was pretty much all down to the its better than that; its Bowie meeting You dont get the likes of Korg and
LFO with 5 waves
fact that it has not one, but two names Eno. Have I just put too much pressure Roland hooking up to do stuff together
(Cont. opposite) on it: Dave Smiths and Tom Oberheims. on the resulting synth? Yep. Okay, its not over the weekend, so we just love the
We love Dave Smith synths (I gave the quite that, but back in 1979, Stateside intro video that implies that these two

62 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.REV DSI OB-6.indd 62 01/06/2016 09:23


pioneers met in a bar and came up with
the idea for OB-6 on the back of a
napkin (see pic on the right).
However, the meeting did occur, and
the result is obviously intriguing, to say
the least. The main headline is that its
an Oberheim SEM synth reborn with
variable oscillators and filters built into
a synth that very much has a DSI
aesthetic, including some of the looks
and indeed features found on the
Prophet-6 (which allowed Tom and Dave
to get the synth to market very quickly
and secretively hence the excitement
at NAMM). There are also extra
modulation features; effects which
include models based on an Oberheim
phase shifter and ring modulator; the
arpeggiator and sequencer from the
Prophet-6; likewise, the LFO and
Aftertouch modulation sections; plus
lots of other fancy bells and whistles
that bring this analogue superstar
collaboration right up to date. But really,
its the core of the beast that makes it
special. Ill now go into a lot of depth on
this, then, but if you want to jump to the
sonic action, turn a couple of pages
OB-6 in depth
The OB-6 is inspired by the original
The most important element
on the OB-6 is the filter which,
like the oscillators, is variable
Oberheim SEM and the heart of that
effectively lies in the OB-6. It features
two oscillators (plus sub) per voice, and
one of the big draws of the synth is that
the oscillators feature continuously
variable waveshaping. So on VCO1,
for example, you can twist between
sawtooth and square wave in one
sweep, so one of your core ingredients
can be sitting anywhere you like for
lots of sonic possibilities. These are
enhanced further with a Pulse Width
dial. Oscillator 2 is also continuously
variable, but features a triangle
waveform plus the pulse width
modulation and detuning. Oscillator 2
can also be used as a modulation
source, with a Low Freq button that
puts it in LFO mode so you could, for
example, apply it back to modulate
oscillator 1. A Keyboard button changes
the frequency of this oscillation
according to the key you hit Ill talk
more about that when we cover
modulation in the X-Mod section.
MT160.REV DSI OB-6.indd 63
Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world etc. When Tom Oberheim (left) met Dave Smith, they came up with the
idea for OB-6 on the back of a napkin. Okay, that probably didnt happen, as the promo video implies, but we love the idea
Also in the Oscillator section, theres
a square sub wave to beef up your bass
sounds. It also adds a more subtle
richness to other timbres or, should you
want, just use it as a separate source.
Finally, theres a noise source to add an
extra top end and fuzziness.
The other important element of
the OB-6 is the filter. Its an Oberheim-
inspired, two-pole, 12dB/octave filter in,
effectively, four parts (hi, low, notch
and band) which offers a zingy,
harmonically rich sound that lends
itself to pads hence the great
reputation Oberheim has for them.
In a similar way to the oscillators,
filter types are state-variable. so you
arent just switching between types but
flowing from one to another; you can sit
anywhere between low and notch, or
notch and high-pass, should you wish.
This creates particularly interesting
sounds when you go between the latter
two and sweep the Resonance knob
you get added meow Theres also a
Band Pass switch that lets you define a
band and sweep through the frequency
range, again offering rich results.
The variable nature of the Filter
section means that you can create
some very diverse sounds and, of
course, with the oscillators variable, too,
were talking vast timbre possibilities. (L x Wx H in mm):
Next up, you can then bring the
OB-6s Filter Envelope section into the
Dave Smith Instruments OB-6 Reviews MT
equation for movement and variation
over time to really breathe life into more
static sounds. Then, combine this with
keyboard velocity (so hitting keys will
alter your filter envelope and change
sounds according to how hard you
press them) and you open up another
performance element. In short: variable
ingredients plus variable filters plus
variable ways of playing them over time
and velocity equals massive potential.
Modulation possibilities
Weve seen how Oscillator 2 can be used
as a separate LFO, but OB-6s next
Key features section is for a dedicated LFO. Here,
(continued) you get a Frequency dial to set the
Arpeggiator frequency of the modulation and what
with up, down,
up/down,
it applies to (VCO1 frequency; VCO2
random, and frequency; VCO1 and 2 pulse width;
assign modes amp; and filter cutoff and mode). The
Polyphonic step
sequencer with
LFO lets you select from one of five
up to 64 steps, waveshapes: sine, sawtooth, reverse
ties and rests sawtooth, square, or sample and hold
Effects: stereo
which doubles as a noise waveshape
analogue
distortion; when the LFO frequency is turned to its
24-bit, 48 kHz maximum setting. Its a more basic
digital effects:
reverb, delay, modulation setup than youll find on
chorus, flanger, other synths, but very easy to use
phase shifters, because of that, and not unlike the
ring modulator
Effects bypass
Prophet-6s (albeit with a slightly
retains analogue different layout). You select what the
signal path LFO modulates just by pressing the
Connections:
Left/mono and
buttons, which then light up which
right 1/4 outs; means youll very quickly start
h/p out; MIDI experimenting.
in, out & thru
ports; USB MIDI; In my tests, modulating the pulse
expression, widths got some very pleasing results
sustain & volume very quickly and, of course, using it on
ped. i/p; seq.
start/stop f/s the filter frequency yields even more
Dimensions dramatic results. The Filter Mode option
is also well worth experimenting with,
807 x 323 x 117
Weight (kg): 9.5
as it cycles through the filter types for
some very varied sonic movement.
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 63
01/06/2016 09:21
 MT Reviews Dave Smith Instruments OB-6
DSI OB-6 overview
VARIABLE OSCILLATORS
a The heart of the synth,
these offer variable waveforms
for a huge sonic palette.
Oscillator 2 can be used as an
LFO and can be detuned.
g f
h b
LFO SECTION
f The first part of the
modulation features is the LFO
section: simple and effective
modulation of oscillators, filter
types, frequencies and more.
With the modulation features,
you are talking easy, fun and
varied sonic capabilities
Again, though, I have to go back to the
fact that the core ingredients of what
you are modulating are key here and
with the variable nature of both filter
and oscillator, you will get some
exceptional results as you try different
things out. Its also worth pointing out
that an LFO Sync button is on hand to
keep all of this experimenting in check.
The Aftertouch section is also
simple to use, and lifted from the
Prophet-6. The amount of modulation
that your aftertouch pressure will apply
is controlled with a main dial (either
positively or negatively) and then this
can be applied to both oscillator
frequencies, LFO or filter type and
frequency. A typical use of this could be
that you use aftertouch instead of the
mod wheel to affect these parameters.
Combine this with the velocity/envelope
performance options I discussed on the
previous page and youre talking easy,
fun and very varied sonic performance
capabilities. Continuing the modulation
64 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.REV DSI OB-6.indd 64
MIXER FILTER
b Dials for a simple four-part
c A 12dB/octave filter in four
mixer for both oscillators and parts, again variable between
noise source, plus a dial for the low, notch and high-pass. A
sub oscillator/square wave. fourth band-pass option locks
this dial out.
i
a d
AFTERTOUCH X-MOD
g Again, lifted from the
h You get two extra
Prophet-6, this allows you modulation sources, but they can
to easily assign destinations utilise all of the oscillator power
to aftertouch and is very easy for much more varied and
to implement. evolving sounds.
theme but getting into a bit more depth,
well now look at the X-Mod section.
X-Mod: days of future sound
X-Mod is similar to the Prophet-6s Poly
Mod a highlight of that synth and an
area where you use Osc 2 and the filter
envelope as extra modulation sources.
The advantage of this is not initially
clear, as you may think that having an
LFO is good enough for this task. But,
essentially, if you think of your LFO as a
single oscillator modulating whatever
destination you choose, then you can
think of X-Mod as that multiplied by six.
This is because X-Mod uses all of the
oscillators available within the synth;
so if you dial in VCO2, you have six
oscillators modulating separately and
independently from each other to
create far more vibrant textures.
Waveforms start at whatever time you
press a key and this is a particularly
dramatic effect when you hit the
Keyboard button so that you start
ENVELOPES OUTPUT SECTION
d The OB-6 has two
e Simple controls for the
envelopes, one for the Filter and volume of the program and main
one for the Amp, to control output, plus a Spread dial to
attack, decay, sustain, release control the amount of panning.
and amount of each over time.
j
e
c
ARPEGGIATOR/ EFFECTS
i SEQUENCER
j Some of the effects are all
Basic arpeggiation and new, including Oberheim models.
sequencing is also included, Digital effects are standard, but
as with the Prophet-6. Again, bypassing them keeps the synth
these are pretty easy to use. in a true analogue state.
modulating destinations at the varied
frequencies of the notes pressed. Also,
because you are modulating with VCO2
rather than the LFO, you are modulating
with a variable waveform with all of the
extra sonic flexibility which that gives
you over the fixed waveform (from five
options) of the LFO.
Things get even more interesting
and slightly complicated, I have to say
when you use these six oscillators to
start modulating other parameters,
such as the shape of the six oscillators
in Oscillator 1. Or you can, for example,
use the six oscillators in Oscillator 2
to modulate the sounds created by
Oscillator 1 while the filters swing
between normal and band-pass types.
Either approach gives pretty stunning
results, with a minimum of work.
As Ive said, its not just VCO2 that is
used as a modulation source in the
X-Mod section, but the Filter Envelope
dial can also be used; again, with the
same destinations as VCO2 uses. So it
can control Oscillator 1, its shape, the
pulse width and so on, all the time
mixed with VCO2 modulating, too.
Dont worry too much if youre not
completely with me regarding the
X-Mod feature. It basically opens up
more sonic pathways than are available
01/06/2016 09:21
 MT Reviews Dave Smith Instruments OB-6
with other synths, routing more things,
fattening things, and joining things up
that might not be traditionally joined.
As for the results? Well, were really
talking about more complex, evolving
sounds, with a lot of movement, or
richer timbres. Rather than everything
moving as one, all modulated by one
LFO, complex tones are created by this
individual modulation per note/
The OB-6 is more of a players
synth than you might think. You
really can noodle away on it
oscillator, or the filter envelope.
X-Mod is a section youll need to
spend time with and is worthy of an
article on its own, as it has so much
potential. But the bottom line for now is,
yet again: more sonic power!
Other features
As with the Prophet-6 and apologies
for my continued references back to
that synth, but it was a recent review
and many of the features are
understandably shared you also get a
great Unison Mode. This allows you to
turn a six-voice poly synth into a
great-sounding mono.
By that, I dont mean it simply makes
a mono synth with sounds stacked
together well it does, but its a bit
more fully featured than that.
Essentially, you can choose how many
voices you stack up to six. OB-6, like
Prophet-6 (sorry), is at its best when
you detune these parts in Unison Mode.
By increasing the detuning between the
oscillators be subtle about this at first
you can create massive mono synth
66 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.REV DSI OB-6.indd 66
sounds, and I mean massive. You can go
a bit too bonkers here especially
when you bring the sub and noise in
but its a surprisingly usable feature.
You may think you only want a poly
synth, but when you hear whats
possible here, youll understand the
thinking behind it.
Within Unison Mode, there is also a
Chord Memory function which stores
the chord you play per note and
transposes it up and down the
keyboard as you play useful for
setting up chordal stabs.
Now we get to the two sections at
the top of the OB-6 front panel, where
we find the very useful Sequencer and
Arpeggiator features. I didnt really have
the room to cover these in my Prophet-6
review, but both are fairly standard and
easy to get your head around. The
Arpeggiator is linked to the Hold button
(located nearer the keyboard) to latch
the notes i.e. carry on playing your
played chord even when you release the
notes. This is great for making evolving
sequences that move in real time
according to edits made on the front
panel showing off, basically! You can
easily sync clock sources or the internal
delay effects, too all good stuff.
The sequencer is a step sequencer
comprising up to 64 steps, with up to six
notes per step. You use it by hitting the
Record button and recording step by
step including Rests (gaps) if you need
them, or Ties to extend notes. Its more
The heart of Tom and useful as a live song player so you can
the mind of Dave. Who
play along to it as a backing track (as
thought wed ever see
that in one keyboard? long as you dont exceed the six notes of
polyphony in total). This (and the
Arpeggiator) can be synced to an
external audio source via an input
socket, so you could play along to a
drum machine, too.
Both the Arpeggiator and Sequencer
really do extend what are already pretty
good performance features on the
OB-6. Its much more a players synth
than you might at first think I certainly
approached it as more of a sound
creator than performer. Yes, it obviously
has the elements for creating many
great sounds; but in its modulation
features plus the Sequencer and
Arpeggiator, it has plenty of options and
tools to manipulate, perform, record
and play back live, too. Solo performers
and players really can noodle away on it
as much as they like.
Effects
We come to the final section of the
synth, and this is the one that
distinguishes OB-6 from many other
analogues: digital effects! It is a dual
effects engine (Effect A and B), so two
can be stored per program. You get
delays, chorusing, flangers, phasers
and reverbs and the effects are placed
in series with all reverbs on Effect B (as
they would normally be placed in an
effects chain).
Yes, the Prophet-6 has these effects,
too, and they are broadly similar.
However, the OB-6 also features a ring
modulator and phase shifter modelled
on classic Oberheim designs, the
former offering a pleasingly gritty and
Pretty standard
connections around metallic edge, and the latter rather
the back, though the more subtle phasing based on an
OB-6 does come with
USB MIDI and plenty Oberheim six-stage model.
of footswitch options Using the effects couldnt be easier:
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 MT Reviews Dave Smith Instruments OB-6
simply select A or B, dial in your effect
and then choose the Mix dial to blend
each. You get two main parameters to
adjust, which are usually the most
commonly accessed ones for each
effect (so youll find delay times and
feedback for delays, and rates and
depths for flangers).
As weve said, the delay effects can
be synced to the Arpeggiator as well as
an external MIDI clock and to the
If you dont want the evil modern
magic from the digital effects,
you can easily lose them
onboard Sequencer.
In use, the effects are gloriously
simple to employ and incredibly clean,
not surprising, given their digital nature
unless, that is, you layer distortion on
there. This is an effect that you access
by holding down the Effect button, one
that is always just a dial away and also
one thats been used so well on the
more in-your-face presets.
But going back to the digital subject
and, for the analogue purists among
you, bypassing the effects keeps the
analogue signal of OB-6 completely
digital-free. So if you dont want this
modern technology influencing your
classic sound, you can switch off the
evil magic at the touch of a button/dial.
To do that, though, youd be missing out
on a rather good feature on the OB-6,
and a great and versatile weapon in its
already well-stocked sonic armoury.
The sound
The first thing to note about the OB-6
sound is that it is instant. As I found at
the NAMM show, the presets quickly
draw you into their lush world. Theres a
lot of movement, a lot of grabbing, a lot
of: come on in and feel the noise. The
Prophet-6 was a little less forthcoming;
68 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.REV DSI OB-6.indd 68
where that said: you know what Im
capable of, I dont need to shout about
it, the OB-6 is singing from every
rooftop. My first pass through was
halted on a number of occasions by
sounds I simply got lost in. It happened
as early as preset 7, a sound with a
dreamy electric piano repeated so well
that it almost becomes a pad, and a
preset that added 20 minutes to this
reviews time before I wrenched myself
onwards. Others just show off; you play
what you think will be high notes at the
upper register and then go for a low
version and the whole sound swoops
down to it, often demoing part of that
X-Mod functionality. There are some
incredible pads of course there are
some searing, gorgeous strings and
organs. OB-6 also does squelch well;
the 303, the bloody 303 And
Theres no denying continuing on from that theme, this is a
its a DSI, but Tom
great dance synth: lots of bass, lots of
Oberheims influence
is there in the filter, movement, lots of ARP-ing I used to
oscillators and some be a little shy of US synths, thinking
of the design, not to
mention a couple of
that they leaned a bit too much towards
the effects playing the intro to Van Halens Jump
(played on an OB-Xa). But while this can
do that, and weve already seen it is a
players synth, it also does big dance
sounds well. The US has adopted dance
big time, and it shows. Some of the
presets that utilise the arpeggiator are
simply stunning, too press the Hold
button on number 39, stand back,
tweak the filter or resonance every so
often and you could charge an entrance
fee (some people back in the 90s did a
lot less for a lot more, let me tell you!)
Theres inspiration and atmosphere
around every corner, too. I normally take
notes if I get any tune ideas as I play
and I filled a side of A4 in no time during
this test. If the makers of Blade Runner
2 need a score, then Im available to do
In the US, great ideas it with this synth, right? I even, and
are written out on
this has never happened before, left the
the back of a napkin.
Its so much more studio to tell my wife how good OB-6
civilised than the UKs sounds (she looked at me with that
back of a cigarette
packet approach,
who the hell is he? expression again).
dont you think? Negatives? Dont play preset 22
01/06/2016 09:22
 MT Reviews Dave Smith Instruments OB-6

its a trumpet-thing; a ghastly effort,
but pretty much the only blip on the OB.
OK there are a few other duds maybe I
could have done with less of the
percussive sounds and the odd simple,
thin bass but these are rare, and
programming this synth is just so easy
that I can quickly make it my own, with
my own sounds, and Im sure I will
more in your face, perhaps more DSI based a lot of the
versatile, more dance, more electronica OB-6s features on the
Prophet-6, so it could
and less refined in some areas. Its design, build and
grittier and darker, but the Prophet has bring the synth to MT Verdict
market quickly and
a class all of its own maybe it leans surprise everyone. + Its Tom. And Dave!
slightly towards more classic sounds, They certainly did + An incredible sound with much
whereas OB is more ballsy and new. more sonic potential
Its tough to call, if Im honest + Its pretty easy to use on a certain
top level
However, what is obvious is that, like the + X-Mod goes deep into modulation
+ but you dont have to, as the

If the makers of Blade Runner

LFO and Aftertouch give you good
options in this regard
+ The new features make it very

2 need a score, then Im available C21, even though its heart is very
definitely in 1979

to do it with this synth, right?

+ Effects are good, but you can
disregard them if youre a purist
+ Love Unison Mode, especially
using Detune in it
Conclusion Prophet-6, OB-6 is a classic reborn into + More of a players synth than you
I cant avoid comparisons (and havent!) very much a 21st-century synth, might initially figure
with the DSI Prophet-6, as so many of complete with many mod cons. So while + Again: Its Tom. And Dave!
the features on the OB-6 are shared the sound is different, feature-wise, + You could spend ages in the world
of X-Mod
with that synth. X-Mod is Prophet-6s there is little to separate them. And,
Poly Mod in all but name, the having given the Prophet-6 top marks, - and still not quite get your head
Arpeggiator and Sequencer sections you can almost see where this one is around it
are identical, as are the Aftertouch, heading. Having said that, I did nearly - The price has edged up UK-side
because of the weak
Mixer, LFO and other features. But the mark OB-6 down on the price, as the OB
- and is a tad more than the
heart of the OB-6 its oscillators and synth is currently listing at around 300 Prophet-6, anyway
filters are Oberheim through and more than the Prophet-6 in the UK - Sequencer and Arpeggiator are
through, so the resulting overall which is significant. However, after quite basic
character is different its a bit like listening to it, I fell for its OB charms,
It could have scored lower based on
having a couple of children with very and wanted to return to them again and the price, but you know what, the
different personalities. again. At every turn, it inspires new riffs OB-6s sound completely puts this
The differences? Well, if I have to put and complete tunes and, when all is synth into a league of its own.
them side by side and call it (which I did
in the test), Id reiterate that the OB-6 is
said and done, you cant ask for more
than that from any instrument. MT
10/10
Alternatives
Must. Not. Mention. The. Prophet-6. Again. Oh, well. Yes, its got a different sound; yes, it has
fewer effects but you cant deny that the Prophet-6 is a classic analogue synth with modern
sensibilities, just like the OB-6. And considering it currently weighs in at 300 less than the OB-6, Id
say it is an alternative (spend the 300 on a modular Oberheim filter!). Then theres a new Oberheim,
in the form of the Two Voice Pro, which Tom describes as his favourite synth and very similar to the
original, but with the addition of a few interesting upgrades. That retails for $3,495. Alternatively,
well, theres always software, but I cant help thinking if youre considering software then you
probably wouldnt have read nearly six pages of one review of a 2k+ analogue synth. Having said
that, as I write this, Arturia is announcing an all new V-Collection 5 which has a whole bunch of
classic synths in it (including Oberheim SEM and Prophet-5), for around 300. Finally, we couldnt
not mention the SE SENSEI I reviewed last month, complete with Oberheim filter (and Minimoog,
and ARP etc, etc). Not so much an alternative, more a great excuse to put a pic in the mag again!

70 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.REV DSI OB-6.indd 70 01/06/2016 09:22

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Features Tremolo, marcato, staccato,
Recorded at
performer was captured in the solo Scoring options spiccato, pizzicato and trills are also
Teldex Solo As mentioned above, the Nocturne Cello was
Booth booth, as opposed to the main studio, recorded in the Teldex Solo Booth, to enable
represented. Theres also a Multi with
14 legato for a more intimate, direct sound the instrument to shine upfront of an
performances at orchestra. However, there may be times when Alternatives
enabling you to place the instrument in
different speeds you might want to place the instrument into
Slurred or a solo context in front of the orchestra. the large Teldex Scoring Stage. To that end, in
Recorded at its Silent Stage, VSLs Solo Cello
is a fine library and the standard collection
detach in any The instrument appears in CAPSULE, the mixer there are Teldex IR controls dry,
contains enough articulations for basic solo
legato patch pre-delay and wet. The default values are fine,
Orchestral Tools own articulation- compositions. Add the extended collection
Long notes of but theres also room for experimentation if
management system, which in turn and you will have enough of an arsenal for
different length you wish.
all but the most esoteric offerings. With an
Single dynamic runs in Kontakt 5.5.1+ (the free Kontakt impressive array of articulations, playing
layer Player is not supported). At around techniques and a pure sound, Emotional Cello
Based on 2.7GB, its not a hefty download, but for from Best Service is rated highly for anything
CAPSULE for from film-score work to modern avant-garde
NI Kontakt peace of mind, it can be supplied on a cello productions.
backup SSD for an extra charge.

72 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.REV SE Nocturne Cello.indd 72 01/06/2016 09:26


12 slots, which can be configured how
you like. All the articulations can be
accessed at once in the Multi view
complete with keyswitches for
recording onto a single track.
Most of the sustain patches have
several vibrato levels: for example,
romantic, progressive, without vibrato
and strong vibrato. All can be assigned
continuous controllers. For quieter
passages, a realistic simulated con
sordino can also be switched on and off.
Orchestral Tools is rightly very proud
of its Adaptive Legato system, which
ensures playability at all tempos.
CAPSULE chooses the correct legato
Its remarkably fluid at all
tempos, from expressive lines
to blisteringly fast runs
interval depending on the speed you
play. Its completely automatic and you
can see which style is currently being
used as you play, either slurred legato,
agile legato or fast runs. You can also fix
the style, if you wish.
Theres a second TM folder (for time
stretching) and a mixer page, which has
two microphone positions and
reverberation; a settings page for
dynamics controls and round-robin
selections, plus a controller-table
page for CC assignment and controller
curve manipulation.
Virtual virtuoso
Leaving the technical details behind,
how does it perform? Very well, actually.
The Nocturne Cello has an extended
version of Orchestral Tools adaptive
legato system and playing the
instrument is remarkably fluid at all
tempos, from slow, romantic, expressive
lines to blisteringly fast runs.
Also, we particularly liked the
implementation of a single velocity
layer for all the legato articulations,
which we found makes for a very
smooth and expressive playing
experience although it could be a
touch more aggressive for our liking.
Apparently, it also reduces any phasing
effects that might interfere with the
instruments intimate sound.
When playing shorts, like staccato,
the velocity sensitivity is truly excellent
and trills can be performed up to a fifth
without any involvement of artificial
MT160.REV SE Nocturne Cello.indd 73
Orchestral Tools Soloist Series: Nocturne Cello Reviews MT
transitions, just real recordings. The
instrument also has an incredibly high
range, taking you well up into violin
territory for a virtuoso performance.
Since its inception, Orchestral Tools
has steadily developed an impressive
range of products in a thorough and
innovative fashion, avoiding any
temptation, in the fashion of some
other companies, to output an endless
string of incomplete instruments with
missing articulations and future
promises. Perhaps its nearest rival in
this respect is the Vienna Symphonic
Library, another company with a
well-earned reputation for producing
reliable products.
This attention to detail has been
carried through to the Nocturne Cello,
which is a near-perfect representation
of the virtual cello with a beautiful tone,
thats very fluid and easy to play. That
said, however, a degree of editing will A-list cellist
usually be necessary after the event, The recorded samples for the Nocturne Cello were performed by Arthur
Hornig, principal cellist with the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He has won
but then thats par for the course with
countless national competitions, plays as a soloist with the top German
all complex virtual instruments a orchestras such as the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Berlin, the
virtual necessity, if you will. Beethoven Orchestra in Bonn and many others. He also performs
regularly with Trio NeuKlang, playing classical repertoire, contemporary
There are several solo cellos around music and crossover programmes.
at the moment, as mentioned in our
Alternatives boxout on page 93, but if
youre on the lookout for a solo cello VI
which oozes expression and is easy to
get to grips with, the Nocturne Cello is
well worth your consideration. MT
MT Verdict
+ Beautiful tone
+ Adaptive legato
+ Expressive playing experience In performance
+ Excellent articulation In Multi Articulation Patches, the Performance View is where you load
implementation and customise individual articulations, set your control preferences and
+ Useful con sordino simulation switch between the selected articulations.
+ Amazingly high range
- Could be more aggressive
Do you really need this?
You can produce and very easily Violin and cello are the most commonly used
play highly varied, upfront solo orchestral instruments in a solo context and of
cello lines with confidence using the two, the cello is maybe the easiest to play
expressively in a virtual context. Whether you
the Nocturne Cello. With a
beautifully rich tone, it is perfect
need a virtual cello of this calibre depends
largely on how much use it will get. For the odd
for romantic music styles, but is solo spot, many orchestral sample libraries
arguably less so for anything include a basic solo cello which will usually
super aggressive. suffice. But for extended solos or specially
9/10 written solo pieces, the Nocturne Cello is the
perfect choice.
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 73
01/06/2016 09:26

GOLDEN AGE
Project Comp-3A Compressor
This reboot of a classic Teletronix solid-state compressor
from 1969 has John Pickford basking in its vintage warmth
W
Details e seem to be living in a
Price 425 golden age for high-quality,
Contact Runway UK inexpensive hardware.
01293 226270
Never before have there
Web www.
goldenageproject. been so many classic designs delivering
com professional performance at prices that
would have once bought you only
mediocre, home-studio kit. Bo Medin,
head honcho at Golden Age Project, is
not only passionate about classic audio
designs, but also committed to making
those designs affordable for pro studios
and home recordists alike.
We were most impressed with his
Neve-styled microphone preamplifiers,
having worked with both the PREQ-73,
There are now so many classic
designs offering professional
Features
Vintage-style
performance at low prices
electronics with
no integrated
circuits a mic-pre with high- and low-shelving
Transformer- EQ based on the legendary 1073 design,
balanced input
and its more basic brother, the PRE-73
and output
T4-style Jr. Now, Bo has turned his attention to
electro-optical another classic vintage design, the
attenuator
LA-3A Classic Audio Leveler. Originally
HF side-chain
control filters launched in 1969 by Teletronix, the
low-end audio solid-state LA-3A was a replacement
Hardwire bypass for the valve-driven LA-2A, which some
XLR and TRS consider to be the greatest compressor
input and output
Line jack to of all time. Golden Age Project told us it
connect another will soon be offering its own version of
unit for stereo that highly revered valve unit we
operation
eagerly await the opportunity to hear it.
MT161.REV GoldenAge.indd 75
Golden Age Project Comp-3A Compressor Reviews MT
Choice
9/10
9
9/10
The COMP-3A on test here is a
single-channel, half-rack design closely
based on the LA-3A, although some
switches found on the rear panel of
the old units have been moved to the
front panel for easier access. As an
electro-optical compressor, the
COMP-3As circuit makes use of an
electro-luminescent panel along with
photoelectric cells to control gain. At
the heart of the unit is the GAP T4
electro-optical attenuator, which makes
use of two matched US-made Silonex
NSL-5910 photocells.
Retaining the familiar styling of the
LA-3A, the COMP-3A features two large
continuously variable pots, one of which
controls Output Gain, while the other
controls Peak Reduction. Turning the
latter control clockwise increases the
amount of compression; the resulting
reduction in signal level can then be
corrected by increasing the Output
Gain. The units response characteristic
is programme-dependent so there are
no user controls to alter attack and
release times. Nor are there separate
controls for threshold or ratio; instead,
there is a switch that changes the units
operation from Compress to Limit. In
Value
$
Limit mode, the compression ratio
becomes higher when the unit is used
to compress heavily; the standard
setting for the COMP 3-A is Compress.
Typically, the COMP-3As attack time
is 1.5ms or faster, depending on the
source material. The release time
operates in two stages, with a 60ms
response time for the first 50 per cent
of the stage and anything between 0.5
and five seconds for the rest.
Making use of the Gain Mod
switches, which mimic a popular mod
often made to the LA-3A, alters the
compressors behaviour. In normal
operation, the input signal enters a
20dB resistive pad before its fed into
the input transformer: this pad can be
disconnected via the 50/30dB switch if
greater input sensitivity is required.
Engaging the Mod switch decreases
gain in the output stage by 24dB and,
when this is used in conjunction with
the higher 50dB input, the units noise
floor is lowered. Additionally, using this
setting lowers the compressors
threshold so that heavier compression
can be usefully applied.
Other front-panel switches are
provided for power, bypass, stereo
linking and switching the large VU
meter to read either gain reduction or
output level. Two settings are provided
for output level, +4 and +10, which
relates to the reference level when the
meter reads 0 VU. The +10 position
prevents the meter needle from being
pinned to its endstop at high output
levels. The meter should read 0 VU
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 75
02/06/2016 09:18
 MT Reviews Golden Age Project Comp-3A Compressor
Alternatives
Warm Audios WA76 (499) is a clone of the
Urei 1176, another iconic 1960s solid-state
dynamics controller. It features individual
attack and release controls as well as four
ratio options five if you count the classic
all buttons in method for a heavily processed,
smashed sound.
when no compression is applied;
however, an adjustment pot located in a
hole on the front panel is provided to
recalibrate, should the meter drift out
of true. A similar adjustment pot allows
for two units to be balanced for stereo
operation; full instructions for this
procedure can be found on the
companys website.
The final front-panel control to
mention is the HF control, which is, in
effect, a high-pass filter. This is a useful
additional feature not found on the
original LA-3A, or indeed many of its
clones. With the control set to Flat, the
unit behaves just as the vintage units,
while turning the knob clockwise
makes the side-chain circuit less
responsive to low-frequency content.
The COMP-3As high-frequency
response can be further tailored
by selecting alternative output
transformer-loading resistors via
an internal jumper.
Warm, firm and punchy, it has
a musical heart that will add
character to lifeless sounds
Connections on the pack panel
include both XLR and TRS input and
outputs for flexibility, along with a link
jack and switch for connecting to an
additional unit to enable stereo
operation. Power is provided by a 24V
AC adaptor.
The COMP-3A certainly looks the
part. Like the original model, its visually
dominated by the large central VU
meter and two main user controls. The
additional front-panel switches dont
detract from the retro look and the
extra HF pot is in keeping with the
late-60s vibe. The continuously variable
pots feel smooth in use and the overall
build quality is good.
We first used the COMP-3A to
compress a lead vocal that had been
recorded with our valve Neumann U 67
through a valve pre-amp and then given
a mild squeeze with our Summit Audio
TLA-100A. As this was an all-valve
signal chain, we found that the
76 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT161.REV GoldenAge.indd 76
COMP-3As vintage transistor design
added extra colour. Using the Peak
Reduction control to dial in enough
compression so that the VU meter read
around seven dB on the loudest parts,
the sound levelled out nicely once wed
made up the gain. Sitting in the mix, the
vocal sounded punchy with added
presence. Experimenting with the Limit
function proved that even with the
heavier compression ratio, it was
difficult to make the unit respond in an
unpleasant way.
Electro-optical compressors such
as this are inherently smooth and
musical in nature, while the absence of
lots of user-adjustable controls makes
the COMP-3A simple to use. Those who
like to tweak their sounds for hours on
end might bemoan the lack of controls.
However, even with full attack and
release controls, most compressors
struggle to match the COMP-3As
natural-sounding two-stage release
character. Similarly, the programme-
dependent response prevents vocalists
from developing a lisp due to overly fast
attack times being used.
By way of comparison, we swapped
out the COMP-3A, replacing it with our
Warm WA76, which is a copy of the Urei
1176. The original LA-3A shared several
components and design features with
the 1176, both being early solid-state
designs. While the WA76 sounded a
little more open and transparent, it
didnt have the low-mid warmth or
upper-mid presence that gave the
COMP-3A the edge to make the vocal
cut through the mix without sounding
over-exposed.
Throughout the review period, the
COMP-3A was pressed into action with
a variety of voices and instruments.
Guitars in particular, both acoustic and
electric, benefitted from the units slight
treble emphasis, while bass guitar
sounded smooth and even when
processed through the 76 limiter first
to tame the biggest peaks, then sent
through the compressor with the HF
control set to around 10 oclock to round
off the sound.
It would have been nice to have a
pair of COMP-3As in order to perform
some stereo buss compression,
however we werent going to let that
stop us from experimenting with
sending wideband audio through the
unit. Wed had a 60s-influenced group
in to record a while back and so we dug
out the stereo mix and collapsed it into
mono, sending the single channel
through the compressor. With the
true-bypass switch, the compressed
version sounded livelier and more
coherent; a pair would be ideal for
stereo mix-buss and mastering.
The COMP-3A performed
exceptionally well, imparting a lovely
vintage character thats warm, firm and
punchy. It has a musical heart that will
add character to flat, lifeless sounds.
Engineers who value transparency and
neutrality above all else in dynamics
control may find the unit too tonally
coloured, while those seeking VCA-style
smashed, surging and pumping effects
will find the unit too even-handed and
controlled. But for a no-nonsense,
easy-to-use compressor with a lovely
vintage tone, the COMP-3A ticks all the
right boxes. MT
In use tip
For a great lead-vocal sound with smooth,
natural-sounding dynamics, set the Gain
switch to 50dB and use Compress mode rather
than Limit. Using the Peak Reduction pot, dial
in enough compression so that the VU meter
shows around five to seven dB of gain
reduction. For a more obviously processed,
up-front sound, increase the Peak Reduction
and experiment with the Limit function.
Alternatively, you could print the compressed
vocal track and send it back through the unit
for a second squeeze.
MT Verdict
+ Smooth, musical optical
compression
+ Classic design with
additional features
+ Ease of use
+ Superb vocal compressor
+ Excellent value for money
- Single-channel; two needed for
stereo processing
GAPs COMP-3A is a brilliant,
affordable take on the classic
LA-3A compressor originally
released in 1969. Its intelligent,
no-nonsense approach to
dynamics control makes it intuitive
to use, while its vintage, musical
tone breaths life into flat sounds.
The addition of a side-chain HPF
control is a welcome bonus feature,
as todays productions often have
a fuller bottom end than the pop
music made at the time of the
original units launch; a clever
reboot for the 21st century.
9/10
02/06/2016 09:18
 MT Reviews Sonic Academy Kick 2
Choice
9/10
9
9/10
SONIC ACADEMY
Kick 2
Sonic Academys kick-drum instrument gets a
2016 makeover, but is it a stairway to drum heaven,
or a one-way ticket to drum hell? Alex Holmes finds out
I
Details ts fair to say that the kick drum is
Price 49.95 (24.95 king in most modern dance music.
upgrade from Kick 1) As genres come and go, it tussles
Contact via website
with the bassline for superiority, but
Web www.
sonicacademy.com in most club music, getting the right
Minimum system kick sound is so fundamental, it can
requirements make or break a track. Weve been big
VST, AU, AAX 32-/64-
bit host
fans of Sonic Academys Kick plug-in
Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista over the last couple of years, and its
(32 Bit), Intel Core Duo punchy sounds have been used on a
or AMD Athlon 64 X2,
multitude of tracks as both kick drums
512 MB Ram
Mac OS X 10.7 or later and basslines. We knew Kick 2 was in
(32/64 Bit), Intel Core development, but were excited to finally
Duo, 512 MB RAM get our hands on this new and improved
(no PPC)
drum synth/sampler instrument.
Click track
Kick 2 adds a whole slew of new
features and changes, the first of which
is the dropping of the Nicky Romero tag
that came with the original plug-in.
The interface is now larger and more
polished, with splashes of colour and
a waveform view that updates as you
edit the various parameters. Most
fundamentally, the Click area has been
expanded from one to three sample
layers, meaning you can create more
complex textures and do more effective
drum layering, choosing from either the
extensive list of drum clicks, hats and
noises, or loading your own with a new
Features drag-and-drop functionality. Each Click
Kick-drum section still has pitch and volume
instrument with
controls, but now adds dials for sample
Sub oscillator
and three Click length, start point, pan, and phase
sample layers alongside a LP/HP filter. This makes it
230-plus genre
much more flexible, as you can now
presets
180 click load in something like a live kick sample
samples and easily scoop out all the low end to
Modelled Tube, allow space for the Sub part of the
Clip and Wave
distortion
instrument. Our only gripe here is that
EQ, Compressor, the Pan control is so tiny that we almost
Limiter and missed it! All the Clicks, along with the
Harmonics
controls
Sub section, can be muted or solod, and
have a button to toggle whether they
78 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT161.REV Kick2.indd 78
respond to the keyboard, so you could
have a pitched bass kick, with static
transient click.
Sub focus
The main part of the plug-in is still the
Sub oscillator, with a large window for
drawing break points and bezier curves
for the pitch and amplitude. This has
been enhanced with an excellent
harmonics section, that lets you add
character to the waveform by dragging
up eight sliders to bring out different
parts of the spectrum. Other
improvements include the addition
of analogue-modelled Tube and
Wave distortions, which are a big
improvement on the (also included)
Clip distortion from Kick 1. Theres also
a Compressor, a final output Limiter,
and a Drive dial that controls how hard
the signal hits the output. Its in the
combination of these elements, the
distortion, and the Harmonics section
where the power of Kick 2 as a tone
shaping tool really starts to shine.
Different combinations of each now
give different types of saturation and
overtones, meaning you have a broader
palette to play with. Other notable
features include a drag-and-drop
export function, and a new EQ section
with a low shelf, high shelf and two
notch filters for extra shaping of your
overall tone. This is a nice addition,
although a spectrum analyser would
have been the icing on the cake to help
Alternatives
The most obvious alternative is Big Kick from
Plugin Boutique (39.95), which doesnt quite
have the depth of control of Kick 2, but has
some excellent artist preset packs. If you
want even more control, built-in FX and a
mod matrix, then theres Vengeance Sounds
Metrum (89), although it might be overkill
for some.
with your tweaking. Last but not least,
(as it was high on our wish list for Kick
1), the instrument is now monophonic
with a new dial for Portamento. This
makes it easier to have long tails
without the worry of them overlapping
and muddying up your low end. That
said, without wanting to sound fussy, it
would have been nice to be able to
switch between voice modes.
New and improved
Kick 2 is a serious upgrade on the
original plug-in, and is now more
flexible than ever. This can be seen in
the 230-plus genre presets that also
include layered snares, claps and toms;
a suggestion perhaps that this is much
more than just a kick-drum instrument.
There are also a few bass presets,
although we would have liked to have
seen more of them, given how
surprisingly good Kick 2 is as a bass
synth. Whatever the weather, this will
no doubt be getting some serious use
in our future tracks. MT
MT Verdict
+ Highly flexible tool for sculpting
kicks and hits
+ Solid collection of presets
+ Excellent distortion and
harmonics section
+ Crisp, clear GUI
- Kick 1 user presets not
compatible with Kick 2
- Pan controls incredibly small!
- No spectrum analyser for EQ
Kick 2 is a more nuanced
instrument with a more refined
palette of tools for fine-tuning your
kicks and sounds, and its an
essential purchase for anyone
writing music destined for the club.
9/10
02/06/2016 09:19
 One of the best
compressor plugins
money can buy
Computer Music Magazine

FabFilter Pro-C 2 is a high-quality compressor plug-in for the most

demanding engineers. Whether you need subtle mastering compression,
an upfront lead vocal, that magic drum glue or deep EDM pumping:
Pro-C 2 gets the job done with style!

www.fabfilter.com
 MT Reviews ALM/Busy Circuits Dinkys Taiko

ALM/BUSY CIRCUITS Excellence

10/10
Dinkys Taiko
Dinkys Taiko from ALM/Busy Circuits has a reputation for being
a quirky drum module, but how does that fit into an existing
Eurorack? Dave Gale patches up a trigger or two to find out

S
Details urely, the whole point of
Price 199 owning a Eurorack system is
Contact to allow the synthesist the
ALM/Busy Circuits
info@busycircuits. flexibility to do things that it
com would be difficult to do elsewhere, yet
busycircuits.com there seem to be three paths available
when it comes to electronic drums. You
could choose to create drum sounds
with existing oscillators and filters,
which is a very creative approach, or
buy a module which might imitate a
classic, such as an 808 or 909. But the
final option might be to consider a
module which offers the basics and
allows the user to build a drum sound,
but go far beyond what might be
considered the standard, and that is
where Dinkys Taiko enters the arena.
A taiko is a type of drum, principally
from Japan, but as to the identity of
Dinky, well that remains a trade secret,
according to Matthew Allum, the
creative force behind ALM/Busy
Circuits, and as with so many Eurorack
modules, the mention of taiko is
nothing more than a hint as to the
purpose of the module and thats
where the association ends.
Sonic structure
The Dinky lends itself immediately to
snare-type sounds, thanks to the
time-honoured structure that would
normally be used to create a timbre of
this kind. The architecture consists of
Features
one part Digital Noise Generator, and
Two-component
drum module, one part Digital Wavetable Oscillator,
offering noise which boasts 24 waveforms. Worth
and wavetable
oscillator pointing out here that the module is
Trigger inputs 12-bit based, making it nice and
for hit, accent crunchy, and especially perfect for so
and choke
many production duties these days,
Plenty of CV
control available where bitcrushed drums have become
Width 12 HP so appealing. The two components,
Current draw noise and oscillator, are blended
80mA
together via a mix pot, which in turns
Module depth
32mm leads to an analogue output stage,
offering a tilt-based EQ.
The noise section offers plenty of
variety, with a wide spectrum from
bright through to early computer-game
explosion-style noises, all with control
over the release phase via a dedicated
pot in the noise section.
The oscillator section offers more
variety in timbre. Traditionally, in an
electronic snare sound, a sine- or
triangle-based oscillator would be
employed to provide the tuned centre
of the drum sound. This can be done
here, if desired, but alongside this basic
concept resides so much more, as there
are plenty of complex wavetable tones
to work with.
In addition, the oscillator tone can
be detuned, via the Start and End
frequency pots. This allows for the tone
pitch to move from the assigned
starting pitch, to the assigned end
pitch, but at a speed dictated by the
Speed pot. Crank this pot too far and
the cycle of pitch movement swings
back around for further passes,
meaning that all sorts of overtones
immediately become apparent, offering
similar sonic characteristics to FM
synthesis. There is also another Release
pot so the decay tails of the two
sections can be set independently.
On first power-up, I managed to
obtain all manner of traditional snare
sounds, many with nods to the classics;
but as I started to vary the Wavetable
Oscillator, the Dinky started to take on a
life of its own. Single strikes, with all
sorts of pitched movement, came
falling out of the unit with no effort,
Alternatives
If youre looking for more basic drum tones,
Tiptop do a very nice series of 808- and 909-
style modules which are truly excellent, but
they offer very little functionality and control
compared to Dinkys Taiko. The Mutant Snare
from Hexinverter takes the 808-style snare
to the next level, with some nice additional
touches, and great layers of control.
thus making this module immediately
useable in more traditional settings.
However, the bit of an animal quotient
definitely enters the room when you
start to add CV control to some of the
inputs. Taking some modulating CVs
from a number of sources in my rack, I
soon found I had placed every
parameter under CV control, and it
sounded gloriously chaotic! I would
argue that this is the whole point of a
module of this kind; the chaos that can
ensue, admittedly requiring some
attenuation in part, is something to
behold and a real strength for the Dinky.
This isnt the end of the story though,
as two extra trigger inputs (additional to
the strike trigger) allow for accent and
choke, the latter being particularly
useful, as the incoming trigger signal
immediately chokes the timbre. Perfect
for hi-hat-type duties and more.
Important to point out here that I
have been playing down the other side
of the Dinky. It should absolutely NOT be
considered solely a snare-drum based
module. Thanks to the wealth of control,
both fixed and via CV, its capable of far
more than just snare strokes. Crunchy
bass drums, white-noise hats, and
numerous otherworldly tones are all
here, and thats the whole point of a
module of this kind.

80 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.REV Dinky.indd 80 02/06/2016 10:35

 Conclusion Main pic: UPPER LINE
Its difficult to imagine anyone in search The 12-bit Digital
Noise Generator
of a good drum module who wouldnt be offers plenty of
drawn in by Dinkys Taiko. Its versatile choice, with
a dedicated
and sounds superb, thanks to the Release phase
crunchiness of the 12-bit architecture.
Its not surprising that this module has MIDDLE LINE
Digital Wavetable
so many fans, famous and otherwise. MT Oscillator, offering
huge amounts of
control and versatility.
Do I really need this? Where will it Start
and End?
If you want something to generate some
classic snare sounds, along with the
BOTTOM LINE
versatility to make drums sounds that are
Three trigger inputs
unique and out there, then this should be on
Choke is an ideal
your try-out list. Its great sounding, and more
tool for truncating
importantly, has the ability to make sounds
hi-hat tones
which you might find difficult to replicate on
a Eurorack without several modules to do the
Above: All patched in
same job, so its ideal for smaller systems.
a ready to go. Plenty
However, it would absolutely not be out of
of CV-input options
place in a larger Eurorack.
available on this
Dinky module

MT Verdict
+ Superb drum-strike module
+ Offers much more than just
electronic snare sounds
+ Excellent build quality
+ All pots available to CV control
(except EQ)
+ Basic, if required
+ Complicated and quirky,
if desired

- Slightly higher price than more

basic drum modules, but you get
what you pay for

I love quirky and interesting

modules, and Dinkys Taiko offers
the basics, with so much more
potential if you want to get your
patch cables dirty.

10/10

MT160.REV Dinky.indd 81 02/06/2016 10:35

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SONIMUS
Burnley 73, SonEQ Pro
and Sweetone
There is no such thing as a Holy Grail of EQs, with each
one being able to bring something new. Mike Hillier
tries out three very different vintage-EQ emulations
H
Details aving a wide selection of EQs
Manufacturer to turn to when it comes to
Sonimus mixing is arguably as
Price Burnley 73
$59, SonEQ $59, important as having a
Sweetone $32 selection of microphones, preamps or
Web compressors. While it may seem like a
www.sonimus.com
3dB shelving boost at 12kHz should
Minimum system
requirements sound pretty much the same on any
PC Windows XP, AAX, given EQ, in reality, there are dozens of
RTAS or VST host
Mac OSX 10.6, AAX,
AU, RTAS or VST host
From the shape of the curve
to the harmonic saturation,
each EQ has a unique colour
small factors which play into the sound
of an EQ. From the shape of the curve to
the subtle harmonic saturation it may
add to the signal, each EQ has its own
unique colour. When it comes to mixing,
having a selection of different colours
available can help you to shape the mix
as you see fit.
In this review, we take a look at three
new EQs from Sonimus. Each of these
EQs has a unique vintage vibe, capable
of bringing its own signature colour to
your mix.
MT160.REV Sonimus.indd 83
Sonimus Burnley 73, SonEQ Pro and Sweetone Reviews MT
Made in Burnley
The first of this trio of EQs is the Burnley
73, a not-so-subtly named emulation of
probably the most famous British EQ:
the Neve 1073. The emulation models
not only the sound of the 1073s famous
EQ section, but also the two input
stages, adding an output stage with
+16/-24dB of gain available to make up
for any level changes brought about by
the EQ itself.
As has become traditional when
modelling classic EQs, the Burnley 73
has attempted to model not only the
sonic signature of the Neve, but also its
visual aesthetic (although those with a
keen eye for vintage accuracy will notice
that the Marconi-style knobs have been
replace with chicken-head style knobs,
which while not quite authentic, are
much easier to read at a glance). The
dual-concentric knobs for the mid and
Choice
9/10
9
9/10
low bands have been kept which, while
in keeping with the original, are
somewhat unwieldy at least for those
of us who like to work fast, without
having to spend too long with our hand
on the mouse.
Sonically, the Burnley 73 is a great
tool. The input stages provide options
for instant gratification, adding depth
and drive to the sound even before we
start shaping the tone with the EQ itself.
Like a real Neve, the Burnley 73 is
incredibly musical, capable of fairly
large boosts while maintaining a
natural quality to the signal.
On vocals in particular, this EQ is a
real dream to work with. The high-pass
filter and low-end shelf enable you to
bring warmth and body to a
performance without any muddiness.
The high shelf adds a shine to
proceedings, but its the single
parametric mid band which can really
bring things together, whether that is
cutting out a little nasal quality in the
upper mids, or bringing out the chest
cavity in the lower mids.
This band is so useful, in fact, that
we think its a shame that the 1073 gets
all the attention compared to the more
versatile Neve 1084. And in the world of
digital, why not have the best of both?
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 83
01/06/2016 09:46
 MT Reviews Sonimus Burnley 73, SonEQ Pro and Sweetone
The passive tone
The SonEQ Pro is the advanced version
of a free plug-in, SonEQ, available from
the Sonimus website. It is based on
classic passive EQs like the Pultec
EQP-1A but, unlike the Burnley 73,
doesnt attempt to exactly clone the
Pultec, instead taking inspiration from
it and other passive EQs to create an
all-new and very powerful tone-shaping
tool. SonEQ Pro has four bands, with
additional sweepable high- and
low-pass filters and a variable drive
output stage.
The low band copies the Pultec trick,
with independent boost and cut knobs,
enabling you to boost and cut the same
frequency simultaneously. The exact
The Sweetones high-pass
filter has an optional Blow mode
which adds resonance
result using this technique will depend
if the band is set to shelf or bell, but
the principle is that, as the cut and
boost have different Q settings, the end
result will see either an emphasis or
de-emphasis around the cut-off
frequency, but the expected result at
either side of the cut off. This technique
can work wonders on low-frequency
signals such as kick drums, toms or
bass guitar, adding weight without any
ringing or muddiness.
The low- and high-mid bands offer
only a single gain knob with +/-10dB of
control, variable frequency and a switch
for narrowing or widening the Q. Finally,
the high band is fixed as a shelf with
+/-10dB gain at six, eight, 12 or 15kHz.
This shelf is one of the standout
features of the EQ, producing a silky
smooth boost in the top end, which can
be great on vocals or guitars for
bringing out the air around the signal. It
could also be just as at home across an
entire mix.
The SonEQ Pro is a fantastic EQ,
which offers a very different scope
of tools to the Burnley 73, and therefore
complementing it well.
Leaning this way or that
The final EQ available from Sonimus is
the Sweetone. This is the cheapest of
the three and at first glance seems the
simplest, too. It has variable high- and
low-pass filters, plus an additional
mid-band Tone knob, with two modes.
84 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.REV Sonimus.indd 84
Behind this veneer of apparent Features dialling it down will cut the top and
simplicity, however, lies a surprisingly BURNLEY 73
bottom ends, creating a mid-focused
useful tone-shaping tool. Neve 1073 sound. Again, the Normal/Sweet switch
The high-pass filter is sweepable emulation changes the behaviour, with Sweet
from 10Hz to 2kHz, while the low-pass High-pass filter moving the two shelf cut-off points
High- and
filter enables filtering from 22kHz down low-end shelves
further towards the low and high end.
to 2kHz. Both filters have selectable Parametric In mixing, this kind of tool can be
6dB/octave or 12dB/octave shapes, but mid-band very useful for quickly altering and
the high-pass filter has an optional Models both Mic placing sounds in the mix. It feels less
and Line inputs
Blow mode which adds resonance to controlled than a standard parametric,
the filter. This resonance adds a boost SONEQ PRO but the ability to quickly get your
in the low end at the cut-off point, Classic passive sounds in the right ballpark cannot be
which can be perfect for adding weight EQ emulation underestimated. We could easily see
High- and
to low-end sources while this being placed early in the mix chain
low-pass filters
simultaneously cutting any mud from Low-band has for various instruments, with any
below the cut-off point. This is the independent specific frequency issues cleaned up by
boost and cut
same trick we see employed by tools a standard digital EQ, or one of the two
Two parametric
such as the Little Labs Voice Of God. mid bands other Sonimus EQs. In addition to
High-end shelf shaping the tone of the signal,
Sweetone has a preamp stage after the
SWEETONE
Simple tone
EQ, which can be used to further boost
or cut the signal by up to +/-10dB. The
control
High- and preamp can be used for simple makeup
low-pass filters gain, with no additional colouration, or
Tilt or Loud
tone control
Resonant
switched to a more analogue-coloured
stage, which can be used to add further
high-pass colour with some even harmonics.
Blow switch Any one of these three EQs could
Apart from top-and-tailing the make a great addition to your studio
frequency range with the filters, the plug-in collection, but they complement
main focus on the Sweetone is the Tone each other well, and provide different
control. This simple dial has a number functionality which can be brought to
of functions, depending on how the two bear on different instruments within
switches around it are set. In Tilux your mix to produce the right result in
mode, the Tone control acts as a tilt EQ: the right context. Each is very easy to
pushing the high end up and low end use, and has its own character. MT
down when you dial it clockwise, and
the low end up and high end down MT Verdict
when you dial it anti-clockwise. The
BURNLEY 73
pivot point of this tilt is controlled by + Model of the Neve 1073
the Normal/Sweet switch which, when
SONEQ PRO
in Normal position, is centred around + Pultec bottom end
650Hz, while in Sweet, is centred + Sweet high-end shelf
around 2kHz. The Loud mode switches SWEETONE
the tone control from a tilt to a pair of + Quick tone shaping
shelves. This time, dialling the control + Switchable resonant
high-pass filter
up will add both high and low end,
creating a quick smile curve, while BURNLEY 73
- Fiddly skeuomorphic
Alternatively dual-concentric knobs
The Neve 1073 is one of the most sought after, SONEQ PRO
and therefore most frequently emulated EQs - Limited mid-band
in the audio world. UAD owners have the frequency range
legacy 1073 as well as a new version with
SWEETONE
Unison technology for Apollo owners. Waves,
too, has a couple of EQs based on the Neve,
- No resonance on the
low-pass filter
the most obvious being the Scheps 73, based
on Andrew Scheps own hardware unit.
Similarly passive EQ emulations are quite Three great EQs, which between
common, with UAD again having one of the them cover almost all the ground
better Pultec emulations available. Softube you could need in a mix scenario.
7/10
have an emulation of Tube-Tech EQs, which are
hardware EQs themselves based on the Pultec BURNLEY 73
designs. Tilt EQs are not as common. One of
Choice
8/10
our favourites until now has been Softubes SONEQ PRO
9/10
9
9/10
emulation of the Tonelux Tilt, which has similar
9/10
features to the Sweetone, but without the
option of switching the pivot frequency of the SWEETONE
tilt, or the resonant high-pass filter.
01/06/2016 09:46
BLUFFER'S GUIDE TO MUSIC PRODUCTION
1. VISIT WESTEND PRODUCTION
2. GET IMPARTIAL BUYING ADVICE
3. MAKE GREAT MUSIC
 Sonarworks Reference 3 Headphone Calibration Plug-in Reviews MT

SONARWORKS
Reference 3
headphone
calibration plug-in Choice Innovation
Can a pair of mid-price headphones ever compete with a
treated room and flat-sounding speakers? Alex Holmes 9/10
9
9/10
grabs his cans and prepares to get calibrated

T
Details here are endless debates
Price 99 Reference on whether mixing using
3 software, 199 headphones is a viable
software plus
specific headphone practice, and one of the main
calibration issues is that no set has a completely
Contact flat frequency response across the
www.sonarworks.
com spectrum. Often even the most
Minimum system expensive sets have bumps and dips at
requirements certain frequencies enter Reference 3
Mac OSX 10.7 or later
Windows Vista, 7,
by Sonarworks. Reference 3 is also
8, 10 (32 & 64-bit, available in room-calibration flavour,
2GB RAM, 1024x768 but here were going to be looking at the
display)
headphone-calibration plug-in, in VST,
AU, AAX and RTAS formats.
Perfect curves
Sonarworks has measured 32 sets of
the most popular studio headphones,
including those by AKG, Audio-Technica,
Beyerdynamic, KRK, Sennheiser, Shure,
Sony and more, plus a recent update
adding more exotic cans from Audeze
and other manufacturers. These digital
profile curves, created using a
patent-pending acoustic-measurement
Features system called PAPFR (aka Perceived
Headphone Acoustic Power Frequency Response),
calibration can be chosen from a drop-down list
plug-in and then used with a transparent filter
VST, AU, AAX,
RTAS formats
to give you a totally flat frequency
Average response. Sonarworks says these
calibration average calibration curves should be
curves for 32
accurate to within +/- 3dB, but also
headphone
models offers a service for an additional 99
Output clipping where you send your headphones off
protection,
and it does specific measurements for
Simulation
both the left and right channels, which
section
Transparent will increase this to +/- 0.9dB. The
minimum, company also offers a list of 24 sets by
mixed or linear
phase filters different makers bundled with the
software and a specific calibration file.
Its quite fascinating to load up the
different curves and compare the
responses of different brands and
models. The idea is that you load an
instance of the plug-in on your master
buss, and mix through it while youre
listening through your headphones,
then bypass it when you bounce down.
The GUI is clean and crisp, with a
main window that allows you to show or
hide a range of curves such as Before,
After, Target Response, Correction, and
Phase. Luckily, the filter used is pretty
transparent and you can choose from
linear phase, mixed phase, or minimum
phase, which has a lower latency so
would be better for tracking. Theres
also a low-shelf filter, and a tilt to
further tweak the final output to your
liking, and a wet/dry knob that allows
you to dial in varying amounts of
correction, allowing you to pull it back to
something more subtle. Other features
include input and output meters, a
toggle to reduce the output based on
the curve to avoid clipping, and a
Simulation section that lets you select
from four other types of headphones
and two speakers, although this feels a
little underdeveloped. We tested the
average curve on our set of KRK
KNS8400s, and a specific curve on a
Alternatively
Theres really nothing else out there thats
quite like Reference 3 for headphones.
However, you could look into Waves Nx ($99),
which puts you in a virtual mix room and even
has head tracking via webcam. Theres also
the simple but effective Redline Monitor
112dB ($69), which feeds a little signal from
one side to the other, to simulate using
monitors on headphones.
set of Sony MDR-7506s and were pretty
amazed we always felt the KRK cans
were lacking in sub, but never knew
there was such a low-mid bump and
high-frequency peaks. Even just using
the average file, the sound felt much
smoother and less fatiguing. The Sony
headphones also felt much less brash
with the plug-in engaged, and the
sound when switching between the two
was surprisingly similar.
Many of us dont have a studio with a
perfectly flat response, so having a
trustworthy alternative like this is
incredibly useful. Its also great for
collaborating with someone who has a
different set of headphones. Given the
quality of the results, 99 seems like a
small price to pay to dramatically
improve the quality of your listening
tools, and if youre really serious, then
the individual service will get you even
closer to perfection. MT
MT Verdict
+ Transparent-sounding filters
+ Quick and easy to use
+ Lots of models covered
+ Instantly improves your
headphones response
- Have to re-learn your
favourite headphones
- No auto-bypass feature
A unique and innovative solution
that can instantly make your
headphones sound smoother and
less fatiguing. If in doubt, try the
demo. The only downside is having
to relearn their sound!
9/10
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 87

MT160.REV Sonarworks.indd 87 01/06/2016 09:28

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 MT Reviews Soundcraft Signature 12 & 12MTK mixers

Choice Value

9/10
9
9/10 $
SOUNDCRAFT
Signature 12 & 12MTK
Details Small-format mixers are now big business for podcasters and acoustic
Price
Signature 12MTK singer-songwriters. Go up in channel count, though, and you can start
329 street;
269 street for incorporating more of your analogue world into your digital. Andy Jones checks
the standard 12
Contact
out the new Signature 12, which also doubles as a multi-channel USB interface
Sound Technology
01462 480000

W
Web
www.soundcraft.com eve seen a resurgence in that setup into my DAW world. Lets see The specs
the use of analogue mixers how it stacks up Feature-wise, Im perhaps not
over recent years here at surprisingly reminded of the rather
MusicTech. The reasons for The range great Soundcraft Ui-16 mixer I tested a
this are many and varied, and not all First up, we should familiarise few months back, an interface-based
part of the huge retro revival that has ourselves with whats in the Signature live mixer which did much of its cool
also been happening in the world of range. There are essentially six models stuff in software. Like that mixer, the
Key features music production. The most obvious
reason for the need for analogue mixing
It comes packed with
12-input small-
format analogue is the big demand for one or two high-
mixer and quality pieces of outboard gear in the
USB interface
20 onboard
signal chain. Then theres the increased
popularity of analogue synths; not least
Harman-branded goodies, like
Lexicon effects and dbx limiting
Lexicon effects
14-in/12-out the Eurorack/modular synth format.
interface
Theres also the ongoing popularity of
Ghost mic
preamps x 8, live playing and the relatively new
ultra-low noise phenomena of podcasting and video within it, including a couple of variants. Signature range comes packed with
performance blogging. The latter two have meant Four standard models are categorised Harman-branded goodies. Those
Switchable
Hi-Z inputs that small mixers in particular have by input channels: 10, 12, 16 and 22. Lexicon effects include reverbs, delays
3-band British become very popular again indeed, Each has iconic Soundcraft Ghost and modulation very useful,
EQ, sweepable Ive recently looked at great models by preamps, Lexicon effects, British EQ especially for the live mixer and
mid
Mackie, Yamaha and Allen & Heath. (theres a feature on this at www. theres dbx limiting on channels 1 and 2,
dbx limiters on
2 input channels Now its the turn of a slightly larger musictech.net essentially, its a more a not very subtle but welcome feature.
60mm faders format mixer: the Soundcraft Signature characterful and coloured sound), and a
Robust metal 12. Its analogue, but analogue for the two-in/two-out USB interface. The two Up and running
construction
21st century, meaning that onboard variations on these are the 12MTK and The mixers are built like a tank, so not
Sub groups: 2
mono, 1 stereo effects are standard, as is USB 22MTK, which increase USB inputs and light in weight, which may be a factor
Weight (kg): 1.2 interfacing. It should be able to handle outputs to 14-in/12-out and 24-in/ for that live user at nearly 6kg, youll
Dimensions any or all of the above mixing situations, 22-out respectively (MTK = multitrack). certainly notice each in your backpack
(W x H x D)
but as the proud owner of a new We have both the 12 and 12MTK on test but means they sit on your desktop,
380 x 113 x 388
Weight (kg): 5.86 Eurorack synth system, I cant help but and the difference in price between unmoving and solid great in my book.
think it may be an ideal solution to bring them is around 60 (street). Getting the mixers up and running as an

90 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.REV Soundcraft Sig 12MTK.indd 90 01/06/2016 09:30


Signature 12 overview (MTK)
INPUTS EQ
a Analogue and
b 3-band EQ
switchable USB with is included with
Ghost preamps and sweepable mids,
hi-pass filters. and offers the British
EQ sound.
e mixer was actually on as I could hear so
a one of the tidiest recent experiences
b MTK variation are great buys. If you
c g
CONNECTIONS ROUTING
f Aux and
g Easy Aux
headphone routing, with buttons
connectors, plus a for pre and post and
footswitch input plug. dials or levels.
interface couldnt be easier. I must
admit to finding mixers that work as
USB interfaces far more usable and
easier to get my head around than
interfaces that happen to have extra
inputs and other connections for mixing
maybe Im just a little old school. Sure,
a rack interface has its advantages in
terms of its physical footprint, but I
prefer the hands-on mixing route.
In this instance, the whole
experience of marrying the Signature
12 with my DAW was incredibly easy.
I soon had the main outs from my
Eurorack plus a couple of other synths
married to Ableton Live, with plenty of
fun on the horizon for mixing the two
worlds together (not to mention taking
more mini-jacks out from other parts of
my modular into the extra channels on
the Signature 12 not currently used).
MT160.REV Soundcraft Sig 12MTK.indd 91
Soundcraft Signature 12 & 12MTK mixers Reviews MT
time (for delays); or mod speed and
depth (for modulations). The effects
AUX 1 TO 3 LEXICON SWITCHABLE
c Aux sends 1
d EFFECTS
e HI-Z INPUTS
themselves are very usable and I was
and 2 can be used to These include 10 These allow surprised by how clean they sound.
link external gear reverb and 10 instruments such as Finally, the Ghost mic pres on eight
and Aux 3 to the delay/modulation guitars and basses to
onboard effects. effects, each with be plugged straight in. channels offer what Soundcraft
two parameter dials. describe as an iconic sound as they
are based on those from the companys
iconic Ghost mixing range. They deliver
ultra-low noise: at low levels, I found
f myself relying on the LEDs to show the
i little noise. So using the Signature is
Ive had in analogue-mixer testing.
j h
Conclusion
For the money, the Signature 12 and
d have any kind of analogue setup, they
are ideal to get all of that joy linked up
to your digital world. In fact, you could
easily spend similar on just a mixing
Eurorack module and separate USB
interface get one of these for both
needs. They are also great live mixers
with very clean and usable effects for
both stage and studio. Of the two, Id opt
for the MTK, simply for the extra USB
multitracking and ability to insert your
own plug-ins on input channels. That
said, eithers a sound buy. MT
Alternatives
Ive looked at the AG series from Yamaha
which offers USB interfacing but lower
channel counts. The MG12XU gets closer to
the Signature 12s spec, though, and streets at
EFFECTS PART 2 USB SOCKET USB RETURN just 262. I looked at Allen & Heaths ZED range
h Each effect
i On the MTK
j (MTK) last month, again smaller
allows access to model (as shown) this On the MTK model, models, but larger ones do
two common acts as a return or this breaks the exist. The 12FX (270)
parameters that can insert for all i/p analogue signal path, ships with effects and
be adjusted here. channels. replacing it with USB, but isnt as
USB audio. fully featured in
terms of channels
as the 12MTX.
Mention should also be made of the
USB v analogue routing all easily
dealt with, particularly on the MTK, with MT Verdict Signature 12MTX
returns per channel for easy switching
+ Very low noise and a great, crisp
between summing and interfacing.
and uncoloured sound
The EQ section on the mixer is + Good feature list, especially for
particularly rounded and smooth. Like routing and USB connectivity
the limiter, its not that subtle, but can + EQ and limiting can be unsubtle
be creative and accurate you can (great!) and welcome
+ Fantastically easy to use
really hear what youre doing and the + Rock-solid build
mid sweep is, as ever, a welcome + Straightforward USB interfacing
addition. Effects-wise, you get 22 to
choose from on Aux 3 (1&2 can be used - Wheres the power switch?
- Not the lightest compact mixer
to, for example, plumb external effects
in, or send a monitor mix to stage for Great mixers. Great USB interfaces.
live use). You select effects by dialling A solid range of mixers that can
the FX Type rotary and then pressing it. help bring all of your studio worlds
together with ease, and very
Two main parameters are controlled
affordable to boot.
9/10
via the Reverb and Dly/Mod rotaries:
typically decay and delay times (for
reverbs); number of repeats and delay
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 91
01/06/2016 09:30
HERITAGE RE D E F IN E D
an audient console on your desktop

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Used by thousands of studios and professionals worldwide the Audient sound can now be
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 Studio Electronics Charcot Circles Eurorack Sequencer Reviews MT

STUDIO ELECTRONICS
Charcot Circles
Eurorack
Sequencer Plenty of
functionality
The Charcot Circles Eurorack module is a sequencer available here Just
look whats on offer
that offers a lot in a pint-sized package. Dave Gale
discovers how hypnotic a sequencer can become

S
Details equencers are a pretty requiring the additional press of the although Id think of this as more an
Manufacturer essential part of modular life, shift button to access the appropriate auxiliary CV, rather than anything to do
Studio Electronics
so the appeal of a feature parameter. Opposite the shift button is with MIDI velocity. The Retrig option
Price 299 (RRP)
packed CV/Gate device in a a delightfully clear Play button, which allows the repetition of a chosen step,
Contact MSL
Professional small 26 HP footprint is pretty throws the sequencer into life. with a sense of stutter, adding a useful
0207 118 0133 attractive. But with this shrinking in Starting with the basics, note access element to the step programmability.
contact@mslpro.
co.uk
size, do you sacrifice functionality? is reasonably easy, by pressing the
studioelectronics. appropriate step and then altering the Inner and outer circles
com Dr Charcot CV/note to suit, via the rotary encoder The inner/outer affair can also be used
(pronounced Sharco) which is right in the centre of the circles. for note entry, turning both circles into
The circular design of the Charcot is As the rotary encoder is turned, the a chromatic keyboard. There is no doubt
inspired by Dr Jean-Martin Charcot, lights dance around the circles, giving a that this requires a small degree of
who was a French neurologist with an visual clue as to the note pitch. Worth thought, but like all operational
interest in many things psychological, noting here that the 1/8th-note features, you do get used to it. In fact, it
has to be said that I had concerns about

The LEDs adorning the front

my ability to work with the Charcot, on
the basis that Im so used to more

panel dance in a circular pattern,

traditional linear sequencers. Certainly,
there is a real immediacy to a more

which is very hypnotic

traditional design which is lacking in
Features the Charcot, but then the footprint of
Fully featured the unit is so small, comparatively, that
Step Sequencer
it makes it an ideal choice for the
Assignable from
16 to 128 Steps including hypnosis. Its easy to see the divisions are displayed via the outer smaller Eurorack.
Up to 128 connection here when the sequencer is circle, whereas the 16th-note divisions In addition to the forward direction
memory in full motion, as the LEDs adorning the are displayed on the inner circle. This is of travel that the sequence can play,
locations, for
storing patterns front panel dance in a circular pattern, quite cute, as it means that you can there is also the option for reverse,
Width 26 HP which is very hypnotic to watch, hence start with a nice clear 1/8th-note pendulum (back and forth!) and
Current draw the connection with the name. sequence and add the odd 16th note as random, all of which can prove useful in
85mA Displayed on the front panel, the required. In addition to the basic note the right context.
Clockable as
both master
Charcot has two circles, one inside duties, there are other helpful options, Once familiar with the basics, such
and slave the other, both of which are equipped such as note length, where the length as navigation and note entry, its time to
Expandable to 8 with bright LEDs and rather wonderful can be increased to the full step length, think about connectivity. The Charcot is
CV/Gate outputs
(via additional
touch-plates. These touch-plates serve or shortened as desired. A velocity no slouch, offering clock input and
modules) as buttons to allow programmability amount can also be set, to allow the output, as well as a useful reset, so that
and settings to be tweaked, often sending of a CV elsewhere in your rig, you can restart those sequences from

MAGAZINE July 2016 | 93

MT160.REV SE Charcot.indd 93 01/06/2016 09:24

 MT Reviews Studio Electronics Charcot Circles Eurorack Sequencer

Alternatives
Every Eurorack should have a sequencer,
possibly more than one, but there are
surprisingly few Eurorack-based sequencers
with the same degree of flexibility and
functionality as the Charcot Circles. The
ubiquitous Arturia BeatStep Pro compares
on functionality, but doesnt fit in your rack,
so if you must have something that you can
hardwire, try the Intellijel Metropolis, which is
a very high-spec sequencer, but with a price
tag to boot. The forthcoming Pittsburgh
Modular Lifeforms KB-1 offers a touch-plate
keyboard and sequencer, all in one, which fits
perfectly in your rack. Well be looking at these
very soon. For something more cost effective,
the Korg SQ-1 is hard to beat, although there
will be no places to store your patterns.

elsewhere in your modu lar. It is also

equipped with a helpful CV in, allowing
for a CV from elsewhere to transpose
the operational sequence.
Under the hood, the flexibility in the
way that sequences can be organised is
comprehensive, although here again,
there is plenty to get your head around,
due to the nature of the circular display.
Sequences can be saved and loaded in
patterns, and these can consist of up to in order to get the most from this unit,
128 steps. However, it is also possible to which will require a degree of patience.
save smaller patterns, and have them While its hidden depths might not
play back in a song format, even be instantly obvious, with a little
simultaneously, to independent perseverance, the amount that this unit
channels (see boxout). When you also offers is undeniable. MT
throw in the comprehensive nature of
the programming, allowing for glide, Do you really need this?
note length, shuffle and legato, it all The question here is more about whether you
feel the design of the Charcot is right for you.
adds up to a powerful package. Certainly, the Eurorack novice may well
struggle with the design, so you might be
better served looking for a more linear-based
Conclusion sequencer, of which there are plenty on the
At this price, this is a highly competitive market, but you will find that just about all of
module that packs an awful lot of these lack the programmability of the Charcot,
a factor which may prove useful as you grow
Top: Dr Charcot, with your system.

The question before buying demonstrating his

theories of hypnosis,
with the help of MT Verdict
is: do I need to save and recall Eurorack? (Note:
possibly not + Excellent build quality

sequence patterns?
historically accurate) + Upgradeable firmware (via
micro USB port) will allow
Above: The induction
further refinement
plates add a touchy
feely element to
+ Very full specification
the interface + Expandable with
design features in a small unit. The big buying is: do I need to save and recall breakout modules
selling point, in my view, is that it has sequence patterns? If the answer is + Clockable in both directions
the ability to save sequences and yes, then this is worth a look. If not, the + Additional CV outputs
+ Very cool design and
patterns, and recall them easily, along traditional 8/16 pot linear sequencer aesthetic look
with an option for transposition. This is might be a better place to start, as the
something a more traditional analogue- note entry will be quicker and more - Data entry is a little fiddly
style sequencer would not allow for so efficient. There are so many onboard - Will undoubtedly take some
getting used to
easily, and it is this ability that makes features, the user will need to get to
me think that the question before grips with the Global mode of operation This is a very feature-laden and
quirky design of sequencer, which
Breakout modules will fit well into many systems,
One of the unique elements of the Charcot is its ability to assign patterns in various ways. A single especially smaller racks but it
pattern can be up to 128 steps, but it can also be assigned to send up to eight (yes, eight!) separate might take some patience to get
CV/Gate signals of 16 steps, to different locations. This effectively means that the Charcot could to grips with.
control eight independent sequenced patterns, using eight different oscillators, but in order to do
this, two breakout modules will need to be purchased, each offering the ability to control four
channels of CV/Gate. The breakouts are expected to be available by the summer of 2016, price TBC.
8/10
94 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.REV SE Charcot.indd 94 01/06/2016 09:24

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 Fostex TR Series Reviews MT

Choice

9/10
9
9/10
40mm drivers, along with the specially

FOSTEX tuned housings of each model.

When it came to mixing and

TR Series
monitoring, the TR Series generally
performed well, although we probably
detect some slight colouring going on
with the aforementioned weighty low
end, especially in comparison to the AT
Andy Price auditions three M70xs. At times during our mix session,
new sets of Fostex phones: wed have liked a little more accuracy
with our bass sounds, but higher-end
each offering a slightly frequency reproduction was spot on
different design, and all and not smothered by the bass at all. In
general, sound clarity and mix analysis
providing superb comfort was top notch.
Although these headphones are
marketed as being aimed at production

T
Details he Fostex TR Series is
Price 155 unusual, in that all three
Contact SCV models in the range have the
Distribution
same price tag attached to
Web www.
scvdistribution.co.uk them. Were getting used to headphone
manufacturers creating ranges that
ascend in quality the higher up the
numerically listed models go; however,
upon first trialling the three models of
the TR series, we couldnt actually
discern much in the way of sound-
headphones) you
might find them
pushing the arm into
the side of your head. However, this isnt
a criticism with the TR Series so much,
more a whinge about our oversized,
bulbous bonces. But yes overall
comfort scores highly for all the models
in the range, perhaps more so even
than our go-to Audio Technica M70xs.
The unique slider bars (which reference
and studio users, we actually prefer
them as listening headphones and have
enjoyed re-listening to classic records
with the TR Series extra oomph and
dynamic clarity; though we feel there
are better headphones out there for
production duties.
So the TRs are great for listening,
but you might be put off by the
oversized look, which can feel a bit
clunky, especially if youre thinking of
investing in some new headphones for
walking around and mobile listening.

The Fostex TR Series offers This is all down to personal preference,

though, as some people prefer the

a magnificent, balanced and clunky look (half of us included!). MT

dynamic listening experience MT Verdict

+ Stunning, accurate sound
reproduction from all three
Features sets in the range
Fostex quality difference. Fostexs previously popular T-RP series) + Extremely comfortable,
proprietary and lightweight
Of course, there is a difference are easily scalable to get the perfect fit.
40mm drivers + Great as listening headphones,
Uniquely tuned between the three the most obvious Going back to that all important
making re-listening to your
housings being their designs: the TR-70s are sound quality we tried out a variety of tracks a pleasure
Two types of ear open backed, the 80s are closed and tracks in many different genres, finding + A choice of design styles
pad (normal and
the 90s semi-open. What that means that, universally, the Fostex TR Series open, closed and semi-open
extra thick)
Available at for actual sound quality and offered a magnificent and dynamic
- Bass seems coloured, to our ears
two different reproduction, though, is minimal. listening experience, balanced between
impedance - You might find them a bit large
ratings: 80ohms
However, theres nothing minimal about the weighty low end, detailed mids and on your head
and 250ohms said sound quality of the TR Series. We sharp trebles. Much of this can be
Three design were quite frankly astounded by the attributed to Fostexs proprietary All in all, the Fostex TR Series, in
variants: open all three variants, performed
(TR-70), closed
fidelity of the audio reproduction on extremely well as both mixing and
(TR-80) and offer for this price bracket, and also the Alternatives listening phones. Though we prefer
semi-open For this writers money, the best phones for
overall comfort levels they afforded our them out-of-studio, they can
(TR-90) studio mixing are the Audio Technica M70xs
delicate ears. (299), offering a totally flat response with still serve as high-quality, well-
Maximum balanced studio monitors. The TR
frequency In the box, you get a choice of no additional colouring. The slightly bigger
Telefunken EA THP-29s (129.60) offer more series is our new go-to phone
response: 25kHz different ear pads (normal and extra ear cover, but for music listening, there choice for music listening.

Detachable thick), both of which we found to be
cable
quite comfortable. However, if youre
wearing glasses (as with any pair of
9/10
are few rivals to the TRs though we really
enjoyed listening to our tracks through
Blues Lola phones (220) earlier this year.

MAGAZINE July 2016 | 97

MT160.REV Fostex.indd 97 01/06/2016 09:44

 MT Reviews Vifa Oslo

VIFA
Oslo
Vifas portable bluetooth speaker may look like a catwalk
accessory, but Andy Price finds looks can be deceiving

O
Details ur first thought upon taking
Manufacturer Vifa the Vifa Oslo out of its box was
Price 400/499 it looks like a handbag! and
Contact via website indeed, the Oslo (and the other
Web www.vifa.dk/
products currently on sale from Vifa) do
products/oslo
have a lifestyle/fashion aesthetic to
them which might not sit well with
some of our readers. This fashion-
accessory aspect of the marketing
was further extended by a shower of
postcards which fell out of the same
box, featuring trendy-looking young
Stockholm, which resembles a sound
bar and is substantially more expensive.
But anyway, lets talk about the Oslo (crafted by renowned textile maker
after placing it at the centre of our
testing room and very quickly getting it
connected to an iPhone via Bluetooth,
the first test was a track recorded circa
1972. Straight away, we were surprised
by the extra thump of the bass and it
was obvious that there was some kind
of bass boosting going on. Despite this
not being a desirable characteristic
a built-in handle. The build quality is top
notch. With custom-made textiles
Kvadrat) covering the unit completely,
the design is fantastically realised.
Control-wise, theres not all that
much to go on: just simple volume
up/down buttons, an illuminated ring
on the front which tells you if the unit is
connected or not and a simple power
button round the back, as well as a
3.5mm connection.
We were pleasantly surprised by the

The Oslo highlighted subtle

Vifa Oslo. Its one of the best portable
bluetooth speaker weve heard though

nuances missing from other

it is pricey and you can get it in a
variety of different colours, too! MT

portable bluetooth speakers MT Verdict

Features + Weighty sounds, given extra
women carrying the various colours of when mixing, its something that we oomph by the back-to-back,
(H x W x D)
268 x 181 x 90 Oslo as if it were the must-have new dont particularly mind at all when high-end internal woofers
2.4kg bag of the season. listening to music for pleasure. + Useful handle for extra portability
+ Strong Bluetooth connection,
Connects via Weve learned, however, not to judge We moved on to something chart
Bluetooth even over large distances
4.0aptX,
a product based on first impressions, friendly from the last few years, then + Durable construction
aux 3.5mm and although we were a little to some drum n bass and then gentle
mini-jack or NFC sceptical of the overt female-angled acoustic. Sound reproduction was - Stereo imaging could be better
Rechargeable - Price is pretty steep
marketing we were intrigued enough fantastic throughout, adding necessary
Lithium battery - You might not like the aesthetic
2 x 50mm by the Oslos uniqueness to run it punch and highlighting subtle nuances
Fullrange through its paces. And boy, are we glad in songs missing from other portable Dont let appearances deceive. The
Vifa unit with we did. bluetooth speakers weve tried. The Oslo isnt just a fashion accessory,
aluminium cone it provides portable, high-quality
and neodymium Wed not heard much about Danish internal force-balanced sub woofers
sound over a solid bluetooth
magnet brand Vifa before getting the Oslo in to are back-to-back inside the unit so connection, and it adds impact and
2 x 65mm review. It turns out it has previously wherever you place it, youll be feeling weight to your music. And we think
back-to-back
Vifa Woofers released another handbag-shaped that oomph. it looks pretty stylish
55Hz-18kHz @
3dB frequency
speaker named Helsinki, as well as the
larger Copenhagen (which is more like
The unit itself is surprisingly heavy
at 2.4kg, but light enough to be deemed
8/10
response
a man bag) and the conventional portable, especially with the addition of

98 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.REV Vifa.indd 98 01/06/2016 09:32

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 MT Mini Reviews

Ultimate Logic Lynx Kinetic

Pro Super Pack Drum & Bass
Publisher Niche Audio
Key Features Publisher Loopmasters
Key Features
Price 79.95 8 packs of
Price 24.95 624MB-worth of
(requires Logic X 10.2.1+) production-ready
cross-genre kits 24-bit audio
Contact info@loopmasters.com
Contact info@loopmasters.com Formatted for 207 loops, 228
Logic X Web www.loopmasters.com one-shots in Wav,
Web www.loopmasters.com/ Apple Loops, Live

H
76 Projects,
labels/71-Niche-Audio 29 channel strips,
347 EXS patches
ospital Records artist Lynx Pack or ReFill
formats
returns to Loopmasters for

E
56 patches for
ight of Niche Audios Choice 1,936
24bit/44.1kHz
another high-octane dnb Kontakt, EXS24,

production-ready
dance-music kits are now
available in a bumper collection,
formatted for Logic X with 76
projects, 29 channel strips, and
347 EXS patches. This includes
sounds, native Logic processing,
and MIDI riffs from Bass House
and Garage, Dub & Reggae, Future
House, Naked Techno & Sublime
Techno, plus crunchy processed
drums from Planet 808 and Planet
909, and effected vocal one-shots
from Vital Vocals. They form a
useful tool for electronic-music
producers, and offer decent MIDI
patterns to edit and make your
own, while the analogue techno
9/10
9
9/10
pack full of speaker-destroying NN-XT, HALion, SFZ
samples
Bass, drums,
Includes one- basses, breaks and old-school percussion, FX and
shots, plus riffs inspired music loops, with a total music loops
and MIDI files
of 207 loops, 228 one-shots, and Written and
produced by Lynx
56 sampler patches. Its clear from
stabs and hits are particularly the off that basslines and drums
tasty. The content is spread across are Lynxs forte as the heavy, find a collection of raw drum hits,
multiple packs, so you may wish to throbbing bass riffs are some of bass and sub instruments, FX and
re-organise it to make browsing the best weve heard for some music hits to round things off. MT
the EXS instruments easier. MT time. The drums, too, are expertly
programmed with a good balance MT Verdict
MT Verdict between originality and simplicity
Some phenomenal, energetic-
to make sure they work on the sounding bass and drum
200 worth of superb
dance-music drum hits, dancefloor. There are also some loops, backed up with a
basses, stabs and FX for 80. good, atmospheric music, FX and reasonable collection of music
You cant argue with that! percussion loops, although these and FX riffs and one-shots.
9/10 cant quite match the quality of
the drums and bass. Finally, youll
8/10

u-he Diva StereoSavage

Explained Publisher Plugin Boutique
Publisher Groove 3 Price 59.95
Price $15 for one-month Contact via website Key Features
streaming access to whole site Choice Key Features Web www.pluginboutique.com AU, VST, AAX
Stereo control

9/10
9
9/10
($25 download) Tutorial on plug-in

S
u-he Diva
Contact via website
16 chapters, two
Web www.groove3.com hours, nine minutes
run time
tereoSavage is a new effect Control stereo
width and pan
from Plugin Boutique that
Three effects for
combines multiple generating width

T
Stream online
his new tutorial from techniques and tools in a single from mono sources
Groove 3 and synth
Covers all areas
of the synth, plus plug-in. You can place sounds in Excellence Syncable LFO

specialist Sami Rabia aims
to uncover all areas of u-hes
analogue-modelled instrument
across 16 videos totalling just
over two hours. Rabia begins with
two in-depth chapters covering all
the different oscillator and filter
models, before moving on to the
envelopes and LFOs. We then have
a further six chapters on elements
such as Trimmers, play modes, the
Effects section, Modulation
Sources and the Modifications
Tab. Rabia then rounds things up
with several videos looking at
building pads, basses, leads, FX
sound-design tips
Presented by
Sami Rabia
and functions, everything is still
tied into how it sounds with good
audio examples. The final chapters
showcase some excellent sound
design, using fairly advanced
modulation techniques. MT
MT Verdict
A deep but easy-to-follow
tutorial, with good audio
examples, which left us
feeling inspired to explore
Diva further.
the stereo field using the Width,
Pan and Rotation controls, retain
a solid, mono low end with the
Bass Bypass dials, and control
the phase and L/R of the signal
via the Input Routing section.
Theres also an Effect section that
includes an excellent Vox pitched
chorus-style effect, a Haas Delay
effect, and an Expander that uses
early reflections to add depth. To
top things off, theres a crisp
goniometer and input/output
meters, plus an LFO with six
shapes, sync, speed and phase
controls, which can be used to
10/10
with multiple
destinations
Bass Bypass
feature to aid
mono compatibility
thing missing is a mono
output button to test the mono
compatibility of your settings. MT
MT Verdict
An incredibly useful tool that
combines multiple stereo
effects into one concise
toolbox. A quick-and-easy
plug-in for adding beautifully
subtle or more extreme depth
to your tracks.

10/10
and arpeggiated sounds. Although control an array of different
earlier sections are more aimed at
explaining the various parameters
9/10 parameters for subtle movement
and more wild effects. The only

100 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.REV minis.indd 100 01/06/2016 09:45


Choice
zplane 9/
9/10
9 10
reTune
Manufacturer zplane
Price 125.50
Contact support@zplane.de
Web https://products.zplane.de
T
he list of companies that use
zplanes elastic processing
software is huge; basically,
start at Ableton, finish at
Yellow Tools and its everyone in
between: a whos who of music
technology companies. zplane must,
then, be doing something right, and in
reTune you can see what this is very
quickly and very easily.
Of course, pitching and tuning in
software is nothing new but reTunes big
draw is simplicity, real-time processing
and the ability to read all the tuning
information within your source files, so
that not only the main component is
transferred, but artefact and chordal
info, too. And it claims to do this in such
a way that the process becomes
creative almost like an instrument in
itself not to mention rather good fun.
In stock now at: Absolute Music, Dawsons, Dolphin Music, Funky Junk, GAK, Gear4Music, Giraffe Audio, Guitar Guitar, Juno Records, Kazbar Systems, KMR,
Music Maker (Dublin), Music Matter, Production Room, PMT, Red Dog Music, Rubadub, Scan Computers, Studioxchange, Westend DJ, Westend Production.
MT160.REV minis.indd 101
Mini Reviews MT
blocks and the output across vertical.
Simply select your tuning output and
everything is done in real time. The real
beauty lies in using anything more
complex than a monophonic sound, as
you can specify individual notes within
an audio file, like those in a chord, and
alter them to your requirements. This
soon becomes second nature; its very
powerful and a wonder to behold.
Indeed, reTune works so well that
youd be forgiven for thinking what it is
doing is fairly simple so transparent is
the process. But actually, theres a lot
going on, and the more you explore the
Features
software, the more this becomes
Mac, Windows,
AAX, AU & VST apparent. Start mapping single-input
Real-time notes to chords or vice versa and
processing ignore the standard scaling and you go
Automatic input-
The software comes as an easy into new and sometimes unpredictable
key detection
Input-to-output download for Mac and PC and runs as territory. Yet here is where the real
pitch mapping an AAX, AU and VST plug-in; just run it creativity starts, taking this plug-in
Presets for as an effect in your signal chain as you many steps further into both the live
major/minor,
church, gypsy and
normally would and it simply takes your and studio arenas. MT
chrom scales input and converts to your specified
Pitch-detection output. And even if you dont know the MT Verdict
sensitivity,
transient levels,
input pitch, the software makes a pretty A magical plug-in that might not
pitch smoothing good stab at working it out for you. look pretty but is both revolutionary
Auto pitch Using the software couldnt be and creatively inspiring. Brilliant!
detection to
nearest semitone
simpler. On a basic level, you check the
input-note tuning across horizontal
9/10
Focal Alpha
For the producer inside you.
Whether youre an, engineer, producer, writer or DJ, the most important gear in your studio
is your monitors. But the good ones are usually so expensive! Introducing the new Alpha
50, 65 & 80. Designed with brand new, Focal-manufactured drivers: aluminium inverted
dome tweeter c/w new 5, 6.5 & 8 polyglass woofers, all powered by dual Class AB amps.
NEVER BEFORE HAS THIS PERFORMANCE BEEN AVAILABLE IN THIS PRICE RANGE.
 www.scvdistribution.co.uk
Distributed by SCV Distribution: Call 03301 222500 for your nearest dealer
02/06/2016 11:50
 The 12 Best Soft Synths Money Can Buy Buyers Guide MT

SYNTH
SPECIAL

The 12 Best Soft Synths

Money Can Buy
Its the MusicTech Synth Special, so heres our very own rundown
of the best 12 soft synths available to buy right now
Rules
1. Only one synth per company 4. Available to run in 64-bit
2. Has to (still be) available to buy 5. Why 12? Why not?

Lennar
separately from any DAW or bundle 6. Vote to change this chart at
3. Not freeware (thats a separate list) www.musictech.net

Digital Sylenth1 Details

Price
$129 to $379
Contact

S
+90 312 265 0558
ylenth1 has been around Web
for longer than pretty much www.synthmaster.
com
every other synth in our
Top 12 and has become a

KV331
legendary synth in the world of
plug-ins. Its developer is fairly quiet
and updates are rare, with the 64-bit

Synth
version only arriving last September,
but it was well worth the wait.
Sylenth1 might be old, but this

Master
four-oscillator, two-filter analogue-
Details style synth has launched more dance
Price 139 plus tax tracks than most and has a sound
Developer that can be the backbone to any

S
Lennar Digital
Contact
track in many styles. Thanks to ynthMaster just updated to
via website easy-to-use effects, massive v2.8 makes our dozen simply
Web www. polyphony and an easy ability to as it claims to be something
lennardigital.com
tweak and refine the onboard for everyone and is one of the

U-He Diva
sounds of which there are over
1,300 this synth was, as they say,
designed to perform. And it certainly
still does just that
few synths around (next to Blue II) that
actually delivers. At its heart is a synth
engine (or engines) capable of a huge
variety of synthesis types including

I
t was a close call between Hive
another great U-He synth ideal
for more cutting-edge electronic
music productions and Diva, a
more analogue-based synth. But this
synth gets it, especially as it has a
vintage synth and modular philosophy
of course, so much in vogue at the
moment. You can mix and match
analogue modules for some great
combinations and choose from well
over 1,200 presets. When we reviewed
the software, we said: Diva represents
the current pinnacle of analogue-
modelled sound. An essential synth.
additive, wavetable and vector and a
Details huge number of modulation options.
Price 109 But its real beauty lies in the fact that
(upgrade from these are all very easy to utilise.
Blue 35)
Contact
Routing is graphical and
Time+Space straightforward; there are more than
01837 55200 enough presets (we recommend going
Web www.
timespace.com for the Everything Bundle for around
3,000 sounds) and you can really use
the synth on whatever level you feel
comfortable with. It really does an
incredible amount in a no-nonsense,
almost calm way. So sit back, dont
panic and enjoy the ride. It does what it
says. It truly is a master of synths.

MAGAZINE July 2016 | 103

MT160.12OTB.indd 103 01/06/2016 09:44

 MT Buyers Guide The 12 Best Soft Synths Money Can Buy

Rob Papen Blue II

I
f there was an award for throwing
synthesis engines, power and
presets into one plug-in, Rob
Details Papen could well walk away with it.
Price 109 (upgrade Blue II is an update to Blue, released
from Blue 35) back in 2005 but what an update. Its
Contact still a Cross Fusion synth, but boasts
Time+Space
subtractive, FM, phase distortion and
01837 55200
Web wave-shaping synthesis; six oscillators;
www.timespace.com a couple of filters with 27 different filter
types; a huge set of effects processors
(each offering 35 FX types); and over
2,000 presets. So, quite a bit then
We said: the synth moves from the
late-80s through the 90s, noughties
and very much more up-to-date, with
some absolutely huge presets that
would easily carry a tune from any era.
Blue II is any synth you want it to be
and a lot more.

Featuring 20GB of extra content plus 400DSP

waveforms and no less than 12,000 sounds, this
could well be the only synth youll ever need

Spectrasonics
Omnisphere 2
S
pectrasonics certainly didnt
rush version 2 of this
multi-award winning synth,
and while the update very
much keeps the best of what was good
about the original, it also most
definitely updates the concept.
Featuring an extra 20GB download plus
400DSP waveforms and no less that
12,000 sounds to choose from, this
could be the only synth youll ever need
youll certainly spend a large chunk of
your life exploring just the sounds, let
alone what you can do with them. We
said: While some have got close to Details
Spectrasonics greatness, theres little Price 285
Contact
doubt that Omnisphere 2 will set a new
Spectrasonics
gold standard for the next few years. It Web
oozes class and sophistication and is www.
spectrasonics.net
an essential purchase for all.

Details
Price 169
Contact

NI FM8
NI, via website
Web
www.native-
instruments.com

I
ts fair to say that we could have
included many NI synths in this top
12, but our own rules state that its
one synth per company, so FM8 just
about snatches it from Massive. The
reason? Well its another synth that,
like Oddity 2, was originally based on a
classic hardware synth (Yamahas DX7
in this case) but through the magic (aka
no limits) of software, has taken on a
life of its own. FM8 moves on from the
original FM7 (but still includes its
sounds) and well beyond the
percussive, metallic and shimmering
pad sounds that FM synthesis was
famous for, to result in a synth that
simply shines. Programming FM is now
relatively easy (well, compared to the
original synth, what isnt?) and sound
selection is very simple. The resulting
synth is big, evolving, and hugely
atmospheric. FM8 is not Massive and
is quite old, but its still a stunning
synth and one we use more than most.

104 July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.12OTB.indd 104 01/06/2016 09:44

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 MT Buyers Guide The 12 Best Soft Synths Money Can Buy

Linplug Spectral Why didnt you include

1. Reaktor? Yes, it could have been in the Top
12, but its more of a development platform
than standalone synth (as good as it is)

P
2. Crystal its free! Because its free and well
arts of Linplugs Spectral do a freeware list separately
3. Pow3r 3Z by Anonymous Software Ltd, or
will make you think its an Details some such other title? Because this is a list
out-and-out dance synth; Price $149/119 of titles we have reviewed. By all means vote
some of the presets without a Developer Linplug for your favourites at www.musictech.net
Contact or via our Facebook page
doubt do lend themselves to many
via website
dance genres. But theres both a Web
simplicity and depth to it that allows www.linplug.com
you to take this synth pretty much
anywhere you want to. We particularly
love the movement you can get with
sounds and how easy it is to program
this via the onboard arpeggiator, but
there are other highlights, too. The
waveform Spectral editor is obviously
intended to be one of these, as it lends Details
its name to the synth, and here you can Price 209, 89.95
get to the heart of the sound to shape (upgrade)
Contact
the harmonics. So its as simple as you Time+Space
like on one level and as complex as you 01837 55200
like on another. Dance synth? Maybe, Web www.
timespace.com
but also far more than that. We
concluded: Spectral offers
inspiration, loops aplenty, core wave
editing and a great atmosphere

The true joy of Iris lies in transforming

your own sounds into playable
music, melodies and textures iZotope
Iris
Fabfilter
C
ertainly one of the more
unusual synths in this

Twin 2
Details
roundup, as it is more of a
Price 99
sampling resynthesiser, using
Contact
Fabfilter, audio samples as waveforms. It works
via website by selecting parts of a sound from

F
Web www.
fabfilter.com
abfilter makes some very
special outboard and effect
plug-ins indeed, weve
scored pretty much all of
them a 9 or 10/10 over recent years
but before the company made any of
these, it made this spectacular synth
plug-in which still stands up very well
today. Featuring some amazing (and
very electronic and dance-based)
presets, this is a virtual analogue that
still cuts through any mix and still slots
into many genres. Easy tweaking,
routing and editing on the front panel
and a sound that really works on many
levels: one that will probably never go
out of fashion. An amazing synth
either a wave or spectrum, utilising
iZotopes groundbreaking technology
in this area essentially the same type
of code used in the high-end RX
software so you can home in on a
particular part of a sound. The bottom
line is not complicated at all, though:
you can get some breathtaking sounds,
complex as you like and also sounds
you wont get anywhere else. When we
reviewed version 2 recently, we said:
The true joy is in capturing your own
sounds and transforming them into
playable music, melodies and textures;
a task now made even more flexible
with the new modulation system. Still a
fun and incredibly creative tool to use.

106 July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.12OTB.indd 106 01/06/2016 09:44

 LOGIC PRO X 2016

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MTF43.ad.indd 1 02/06/2016 12:40

 MT Buyers Guide The 12 Best Soft Synths Money Can Buy
GForce
Oddity 2
Oddity 2 has the exceptional sound of
the Odyssey multiplied into huge walls of
spikey, aggressive and lush tones
Zero-G
Epica
O
kay, strictly speaking, its a
library of sounds and not
technically a soft synth like
the others in our dirty dozen,
but it makes synth noises and has
synth controls so were including it,
dammit! And, boy, what synth noises it
makes. Epica runs as a Kontakt
instrument with all of the library
management that that entails. Once
loaded in, though, you wont regret the
hard drive space outlay because this
thing sounds, well, epic. Huge sounds
and enough control over them for it not
to get unwieldy (and to label it a synth!).
We said: If you love synths, this could
be the best 113 you will spend. As epic
as epic can be
108 July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.12OTB.indd 108
I
it was originally one of the best
emulations of an ARP Odyssey you
could buy in software, but Oddity 2
is now so extra-featured and
powerful that it has taken on life
after emulation status and become
an incredible-sounding synth in its
own right. This is not least thanks to
its ability to play in a Polyphonic Mode,
meaning you have the exceptional
sound of the original Odyssey
multiplied into huge walls of spikey,
aggressive and lush tones. Theres
unpredictability and a vast range of
timbres across 1,000-plus presets and
Details its easy to understand why the original
Price 139.99 was so beloved by so many synth icons.
(currently 58.33 We said in our original review: Oddity 2
in a sale)
is a triumph. We love the extra mod
Developer GForce
Contact
options and using it as an effect, but
via website best of all is Polyphonic Mode, a feature
Web www. that takes Oddity to new heights. If ARP
gforcesoftware.
had carried on as a company, this is
com
the synth it would have made now.
Details
Price 113
Contact
Time+Space
01837 55200
Web www.
timespace.com
literally endless programmability.
We want more emulations!
Weve deliberately stayed away from soft
synths that specifically model hardware
synths. We (mostly) favour software being
used to stretch what can be done with sound
rather than emulating existing hardware. The
ones we have included namely Oddity and
FM8 have, for example, extended what was
done by the original hardware so much that
they have become synths in their own right,
but dont worry, classic-synth fans well be
doing a proper emulation chart full of Arturia,
Roland et al very soon!
Details
Price 199
Contact
MeldaProduction,
via website
Web
www.
meldaproduction.
com
Melda
MPower
Synth
M
eldaProduction might be
known to you by its range
of plug-ins, for which it
has a great reputation
among producers. MPower is its first
synth and the company seems to have
concentrated on the power part of the
name. MPower has spades of creative
options and you can create sounds or
take the existing presets on all sorts of
journeys with them. There are 1,500
presets but, as we said in our review,
it might be best to create your own to
really get the best from them, as
theres so much power under the hood,
it would be a shame not to use it. We
said: Spend some time digging around
and you will find that there is much to
like. Its a serious synth that rewards
some investment of effort, but,
crucially, it sounds great. An
extraordinarily powerful synth, with
01/06/2016 09:44
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MT160.US subs.indd 5 02/06/2016 12:07

 MT Industry Guru Aston Microphones

MT Industry Gurus Aston Microphones

INDUSTRY GURUS
The Aston team (l to r):
Jack Munro (Designer),
James Young (MD), Phil Smith
(Operations) and Alan Gavin
(International Sales)

Aston Microphones Our sporadic series of interviews focusing on the brands and people
within the music-production industry continues with the new microphone
kids on the block:Aston Microphones. With two MusicTech awards
under its belt already, this is a brand that looks set to grow and grow

A
ston Microphones has only been
in existence for a few months,
but has already received rave
reviews in MusicTech, winning
10/10 for the Origin, a fixed
cardioid, large-diaphragm condenser mic,
and 9/10 for the Spirit, a large-diaphragm
condenser mic a couple of months later.
With more products planned for 2016, we
caught up with MD James Young
MusicTech: Lets start with the history
James Young: Phil Smith and I founded
Sonic Distribution in 2002. Today, we
represent a number of premium brands
including Waves, J Rockett, On-Stage plus
MunroSonic and Rupert Neve Designs in
which we also have ownership. Together
with Mitch Carey, we also founded and
created the mic brand sE Electronics from
the companys formation in 2002, through
to July 2014, when this long-standing
partnership met an untimely end.
For years, Id wanted to bring mic
manufacturing back to the UK to follow
the model we achieved with our speaker
brand, MunroSonic. With this in mind,
and now missing the mic brand wed spent
12 years building, we decided the best way
to show the world what we were really
made of, was to do it all again, better, and
in the UK. So Aston Microphones Ltd was
conceived in January 2015, established in
September and launched to market two
months later. As well as being MD, Im also
creative director for the Aston brand, and
heavily involved in product development.
MT: What makes a good mic?
JY: Theres no such thing as a bad mic, you
just need to find the application for it. Of
course, thats a little tongue in cheek
because some mics are truly awful, but
most are useable, and a mic which might
be crappy on vocals can be wonderful on a
guitar cab and so on. But what makes a
truly great mic is one which isnt hyped,
has character without overwhelming the
performance, and which doesnt need lots
of EQ and compression to make it sound
right that said, there are a fair few mics
which fit that bill, not hundreds, but quite
a few, and then its all about the character
and how and when you use that to best
effect. Most of the mics which fall into that
category are very expensive indeed I
could count on one hand the number of
sub-300 condenser mics which have been
universally described as fitting that
particular bill and two of them are Astons!

110 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.INT Guru.indd 110 01/06/2016 09:11


MT: What was your original goal?
JY: I wanted to create a genuinely global
UK-manufactured mic brand, which would
stand apart from the glut of Chinese OEM
brands in its innovation, technical and
engineering excellence, and sonic
performance. Something new and unique
in a market often described as crowded,
more because everything is the same than
because there are too many brands.
MT: How key was the British angle?
JY: Isnt it strange that the home of the
music industry, the UK, isnt known for
making the one product that translates
every vocal, every guitar track, everything
non-synthesised: the microphone? For
some weird reason, weve left that to
Germany, USA and China
Id like to change that.
So it was a gut feeling,
rather than market
The best way to show what we
research, which drove me,
partly for the satisfaction
were really made of was to do it
of proving it can be done in
todays market, partly
all again, better, in the UK
because I believe the
British brand is still very much alive and
kicking, especially in the USA and Far
East, and partly to make it easier to control
quality and have the supply chain local.
Most of all, though, it was something I
simply needed to do. I spent 12 years
bringing innovation, technical expertise
and brand awareness to a Chinese
company and ultimately lost something
which had been a huge part of my life. I
realised Id learned so much from that
experience that I certainly couldnt walk
away from a product area that I really love,
and I like the bit in business where most
people think youre crazy for even trying,
and then you pull off something that
nobody else had the balls to do me too
has never appealed to me in the slightest!
The very first decision we made was
how to approach the project from a
technical-design POV. We perceived two
choices: buy in OEM product, brand it and
add a Designed In The UK moniker as so
many other brands do, both in the EU and
the USA especially, or do something from
the ground up.
The first option would have been
quicker, but what contribution do you
make to the music industry, when all
youve done is the same old thing again? If
youre in it just to make money thats okay,
but I think its about building a legacy to
be proud of. So we had to go ground up.
That, for us, meant innovative design,
showcasing British engineering excellence;
striking, but not overplayed, styling (very
British!); actual UK manufacturing and not
just localised assembly; local UK suppliers
MT160.INT Guru.indd 111
(even for our packaging), and all of this at
highly competitive price points so not
much of a task, then!
We questioned everything about mic
design it made us really think about how
little invention there is in the studio-mic
world, and what became clear was that you
could reduce costs dramatically with good
engineering. We got rid of the need for
costly paint jobs to cover up none-too-
pretty workmanship. We have a tumbled
stainless steel finish on our mics which
also reduces wear and tear, so the mics
will look great 10 years from now.
Every single mic we looked at in our
research (over 400 of them) had the same
basic design: a fixed, rigid mesh head. This
is a fundamentally flawed method of
protecting the delicate capsule, as a knock
will either dent the head or do internal
damage. Our wave-form spring headstock
not only looks unique, but is vastly
superior in terms of taking a bash, and
brought a huge cost saving.
All of these engineering savings meant
we could focus resources on the sound,
and yet wed actually dramatically
improved the technical performance of the
mic thats good British engineering.
We also worked with a panel of 33 of the
top producers and engineers in the UK.
They, in a six-month series of blind tests,
developed and finally chose the sound for
each mic. Its another unique approach and
one that has paid off spectacularly, as the
Aston Microphones Industry Guru MT
response has been nothing short of
astonishing. People love the look, the
sound even more, and are comparing our
mics, not to 200 to 400 competitors, but
to Neumann, Telefunken and Sony.
MT: Tell us about the range?
JY: So far, weve released four products.
The Origin is our single-pattern large
diaphragm condenser; the Spirit our
transformer-balanced multi-patter
condenser (and a very different sound); the
British-made Aston Rycote; and our latest
release, the Halo reflection filter, another
ground-breaking product and a big step up
in tech for that product type. Halo is
another example of deconstructing the
perceived wisdom and inventing
something really new
which radically improves
performance.
Our next product will be
a stereo pair of pencil mics.
But pencil-mic innovation
has been even thinner on
the ground than large-
diaphragm mics. Theyre
fundamentally boring to look at and have
some major intrinsic flaws which nobody
has addresses. Now I cant tell you what
those are yet, and how weve found some
very cool solutions to them, as I dont want
to spoil the launch this September. But I
can guarantee that when you see what
weve created youll be blown away
MT: And tell us specifically about the Halo
reflection filter?
JY: Mitch [Carey, partner at Sonic who
sadly died in 2010] and I conceived the
original sE Reflexion Filter back in 2005. It
was the first portable vocal booth and
revolutionised project-studio recording,
and indeed found its way into most
MAGAZINE July 2016 | 111
01/06/2016 09:12
 MT Industry Guru Aston Microphones
Astons condenser mics
incorporate the companys
signature protective
wave-form mesh head
professional studios, too. But the
technology has remained the same for the
last 10 years. In fact, I lobbied to change it
when I was still at sE, but got nowhere.
Roll on 2016, and Halo: its bigger, lighter,
with better diffusion, better absorption,
better hardware, and with two associated
patents and a registered design. Again, we
wanted to bring something to the industry,
not just more OEM re-hashes.
There are a number of fundamental
improvements that needed to be made to
all the reflection filters on the market,
because they are all basically the same
design, some better than others, but still
have the same flaws.
They are generally
small, the good ones are Rik Simpson, the Coldplay
very heavy, the hardware is
generally pretty clunky and producer, just said The Halo
difficult to use, they have a
tendency to overbalance, is f***ing amazing
offer little diffusion, very
little isolation, and dont do anything for
source audio, creating primary reflections
on the ceiling and floor, generally the two
most reflective areas in a room! Halo
addresses all these issues head-on, with
patented PET felt forming the main body
of the filter.
MT: Which high-profile engineers and
producers use your products?
JY: We have more than 300 very high-
profile producers and engineers working
with us and working with artists as
diverse as Jay Z and Beyonc, to the Royal
Shakespeare Company. I think the best
quote yet was from Rik Simpson (Coldplay
producer), who just said The Halo is
f***ing amazing. But what I hear the most
is, How the hell did you guys do this?
These are 2,000 mics for 200, and made
in the UK! The answer is we listened, we
112 | July 2016 MAGAZINE
MT160.INT Guru.indd 112
tried something daring and new instead of
safe, and we let real producers and
engineers develop the sound.
MT: Which production techniques are you
most commonly asked about ?
JY: Probably How do I get such-and-such
a sound? People starting out think there is
some special trick theyre missing. They
want to know how things are done. Of
course, there are plenty of techniques to
learn in getting a good, technically sound
recording, but thats not what theyre
asking. You learn and refine that stuff as
you go along.
MT: And what is your reply?
JY: Use your ears. No, really, not in a
patronising way. I mean experiment, break
the rules. Production should be about
soundscape creation, creating something
more than just a clean recording, by the
book. The greatest tracks are the ones
which threw the rule book away, went past
ABC and tried anything and everything
until they hit gold.
MT: Whats the biggest production
mistake you hear and your cure-all
advice for it?
JY: People who add 2:1 compression on
every vocal because thats what you do, or higher quality creative production weve
use the same pre-set EQ every time. It kills
tracks and makes everything sound very
much like an un-thought-out demo. And
the other one is over-editing: every phrase
pitch-corrected and time-shifted to
perfection because you can. Again, it
boils down to using creative judgement to
breathe life into a track, not ironing out
another bland recording. Use your ears!
MT: Any advice for entering the world of
music production with the view to
making a living from it?
JY: Its very hard Much easier to make
money in producing adverts, jingles,
library music, etc. So if you really want to
be a creative producer, be prepared for a
long slog with no guarantees of financial
reward. Making it big as a producer is no
easier than making it big as an artist
there are a lot of good people who never
really get known, but then if you enter the
music industry to make money, youre
either very nave indeed, or not the kind of
person Im likely to want to know! Music is
art, passion, love money
comes way down the list.
MT: How would you like
Aston to be perceived?
JY: Id like to leave my mark
as the mad idiot that
achieved the seemingly
impossible a global UK-manufactured
mic brand. Id like Aston to be the British
equivalent of Neumann in their heyday:
iconic, must-have products, sought after
on a reputation gained by excellence, but
still remaining as a family brand. I never
want Aston to become a soulless public
company thats too far removed from the
people who make the music.
MT: Whats the future of music
production?
JY: Id like to think that the public will get
sick and tired of the trash theyre being fed
and re-discover music as more than a
backing track. I hope they will demand
got more than enough technical quality to
last a lifetime. How about we go for
creative excellence now and give music
back its broken heart? MT
01/06/2016 09:12
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 MT Your Disc

SAMPLE LOOPS & MULTISAMPLES

DVD160 3GB+ PC & Mac //ROYALTY FREE & EXCLUSIVE

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plenty of synth promo videos and this months workshop files and a selection of vintage synth-brass
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Synth specialist Sami Rabia
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3. First up, Rabia takes a look
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EXS24 Web www.loopmasters.
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Weve got cutting-edge samples
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The Logic tutors at SubBass
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settings and routing in the
Advanced page. Plus Point Blank
Music School instructor Chris
Carter explores granular
synthesis in Kontakt, Reaktor
and Logic Pro X, and Dan
Herbert on patch creation with
Reaktor 6.

114 | July 2016 MAGAZINE

MT160.dvd page.indd 114 02/06/2016 09:09

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