Table of contents for Autumn 2018 in Future Music

D16’s Fazortan 2 phaser will sound extra retro It’s been a decade since D16 released their Fazortan ‘space phaser’ plugin, so we were probably due a second version. This is on the way, and is said to sound even more like the hardware that inspired it. Fazortan 2 promises all-pass filters that are bursting with analogue character. There are also two controllable LFOs which can sync to your host. You now get a tag-based preset browser and MIDI learn throughout, and you can also choose from two GUI sizes. At the time of writing, price and release date for Fazortan 2 are still TBC.…

AUDIO TO MIDI “Experiment with Ableton’s Audio to MIDI feature. Turn drum loops into melodies or traffic noises into drum patterns. First results might not always be inspiring but have a closer look. Delete certain notes, quantise, change looping points.” Into the groove “Record your lines with drastic effects, shelve the originals and take it from there. Line up three parallel drum loops, silence them with Ableton’s clip volume and start building a groove by bring up little individual parts/snippets with the drawing pen in each of them, complementing each other. And don’t forget to look at the gaps between the individual drum hits too.” If you’re stuck… “…Go and clean the dishes, or hoover the flat. This clears out some cobwebs metaphorically and physically.”…

LIKE IT? TRY THESE… Katch 22 Diary of a Blackman Living in the Land of the Lost Slept on UK rap classic from ’91, chock full of tough breaks and choice vocals, as sampled by 2 Bad Mice throughout Kaotic Chemistry. ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: Service With A Smile, Ghetto Child, Katch Mission 4 Hero  ‎ In Rough Territory Dego and Mark from Reinforced Records’ seminal debut from ’91 – pulsing with rave sonics and proto-jungle breaks. Si and Sean took notes. ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: Can’t Strain My Brain, Mr Kirks Nightmare (Live Mix), The Last Ever Bleep Track (Used To Death) A Guy Called Gerald 28 Gun Bad Boy Pioneering producer with a hand in much of dance music’s DNA. The title track here is drum…

Kikagaku Moyo Masana Temples Guruguru Brain Japanese psych-rock outfit Kikagaku Moyo burst onto the scene in 2013 with a flurry of records. After a relative easing off since 2016’s House In The Tall Grass, the Tokyo five-piece are back with their fourth studio album, the impressive Masana Temples. More focused and direct then their previous output, the album feels cleaner than before. Of course, there is still the murky, spun-out psychedelia with fuzzy guitars and raw, powerful energy, but it feels less sprawled out and nebulous. The tracks are condensed and focused, tapping into a distinct sound that feels intuitive and cohesive, the result of a tight band’s evolution and development. That tightness creates a natural, easy-flowing sound, borne of a band all pulling in the same direction. Mind-melting psych…

DOs & DON’Ts > DO finish your tracks. That might sound like an odd piece of advice in a feature about improved workflow and increased productivity but both of these are dependent on a confident mindset and not finishing tracks can be a kick in the teeth for your self-confidence. > DON’T abandon coffee cups, water glasses and plates. At the end of every session, get them out of the studio and wash them up and put them away. Nothing looks and smells worse than yesterday’s food and drink on your desk the following morning. > DO buy a box for the bits and pieces which always go missing, such as headphone adaptors, USB leads, rack screws, batteries and mic clips. Put them all in one place and then put…

The organised computer is a productive computer Okay, so apologies for the slightly condescending heading but, it’s true. Here’s some computer-related advice… Almost always, the modern studio has a computer at its centre and this piece of equipment is the lifeblood of our creativity. Sure, you might love your vintage hardware synth, but if its power supply blew up when you were on a deadline, you’d find a way around it. This is much harder if your computer goes under. There are some simple but effective things we can do to keep the likelihood of this happening to a minimum, three of which we’re exploring below. Also, try to think of your music computer as exclusively that – a place to do work. It’s easy to set up your computer…

FIVE ESSENTIAL CARPENTER SOUNDTRACKS Halloween (1978) The score to Carpenter’s original horror masterpiece was composed and recorded in a warehouse in central LA. The main piano theme – a simple pattern in 5/4 time – has become one of the most recognisable motifs in cinematic history. Escape From New York (1981) The soundtrack to Carpenter’s early-’80s dystopian sci-fi thriller saw the director team up with regular collaborator Alan Howarth for the first time. It was also one of the first times Carpenter composed a score while watching footage of the film itself. The Thing (1982) The score for The Thing was actually composed by Italian master Ennio Morricone. However, despite a language barrier hindering communication, Carpenter’s influence can be plainly heard in the drawn-out, minimal synths…

Neutron 2’s channel-strip effects The power of Neutron comes from its six talented effects modules. Here’s how they work and what they can offer Neutron’s default channel strip starts with its Gate, moves onto an EQ, through two compressors, before hitting an Exciter and a Transient Shaper. All these processors can work in three bands, and are also reorderable and can be deactivated. And yes, using less processing in Neutron will make things easier on your CPU – especially using the VST3 plugin version. Neutron’s Gate processor is a multiband effect that lets you define frequency ranges for three separate gates, the EQ contains eight bands plus low and high filters and shelves for a total of 12, with loads of functionality. Next, two compressors, offering either Peak or RMS…

MODULAR MONTHLY Is Eurorack a good effects platform? Explore Eurorack as a platform for processing drums and beats Rather than exploring a specific module or technique, here we look at processing drum sounds and beats with Eurorack modules. There’s a huge range of potential from distortion, filtering, audio rate effects, delays, granular processing, resampling and more. We’re focusing on four key areas, going from some basic applications of processing to some more advanced techniques to really push your drum sounds further. First we’ll look at filtering and Eurorack has a huge range of filters including lots of filter types, flavours, and designs. While filters commonly remove harmonics from their inputs, we use them with audio rate modulation to add harmonics and overtones imparting new colours and tones over otherwise standard…

Powersynths Power synths Get to know this recent breed of versatile, multifaceted synths that seemingly do it all A decade ago, the best software synths could barely run on a home computer without CPU spluttering and overloads. Today, computing power has clearly caught up with advances in DSP tech. Relatively inexpensive virtual instruments can now emulate costly hardware synths, generate unheard of uber-complex timbres, and manipulate audio samples in countless ways. So where next? Well, recent years have seen the rise of so-called ‘powersynths’: all-singing, all-dancing behemoths that aren’t restricted to one single method of sound generation, but instead allow you to mix and match between synthesis and sampling types across different oscillators. Want a plain ol’ subtractive waveform? Easy! A wavetable oscillator? That can be added side-by-side. Sample-stretching granular…

Merging synthesis and samples Blend the natural with the artificial for out-of-this-world timbres When crafting patches, having the ability to combine synthetic timbres with unique samples will exponentially increase your sound design possibilities. Synthesised tones bring the power and solidity, while samples provide real-world textures and human flavours. Interweaving these disparate worlds is where the real magic happens – and ‘power synths’ such as the ones above allow you to do this with ease. In the below tutorial, we’ll exploit Omnisphere 2’s dual-layer architecture by blending a sampled vocal note with a modulated wavetable oscillator. Sometimes, as in this case, the two layers might sound a bit too experimental in their raw state, but that’s where your instrument’s effects come into play: by melding the vocal and synth sound together…

Pioneer DJ DDJ-SX3 Pioneer DJ DDJSX3 £969 The popular Serato DJ controller has hit version 3, bringing more connectivity and feature refinements this time. Si Truss checks it out... Up there with the best ioneer DJ’s DDJ-SX P line debuted back in 2012, and has arguably retained the crown of being the highest-quality, and most powerful Serato DJ controller available for under a grand. Version 3 arrived earlier this year, further refining the already winning formula. The DDJ-SX3 looks very similar to its predecessors. Again, the controller is small enough to transport pretty easily, but with its sturdy chassis and aluminium top it’s also rugged feeling, and you’d expect it to tolerate regular club use without issue. The jogwheels are small, but responsive and sturdy, with a feel not dissimilar…

SOUNDS & SAMPLES Output – Indie Vocals, Ambient Vocals and Barely Vocals for Exhale $35 each Output have created quite a storm over the last few years with their great-looking and immensely playable, Kontakt instruments. Their fondness for good design has also taken them into the furniture market with Platform, an attractive yet functional studio desk. Recently they have also dived into the subscription-based arena, with their Arcade loop synthesiser. Luckily Output haven’t forgotten their roots, and continue to release expansion packs for their sample-based sound libraries. This time it’s the turn of their vocal engine Exhale to get a sonic boost with three packs – Indie Vocals, Ambient Vocals and Barely Vocals. These all utilise the original’s underlying audio content, and only add presets applicable to Exhale’s Notes mode.…

Filter Mercuriall claim their latest amp sim is a cut above the rest Amp-sim brand Mercuriall audio have unveiled their latest plugin, the SS-11X – an officially sanctioned model of the classic AMT SS-11 preamp. The product of five years' development, the plugin uses Mercuriall’s unique Neural Hybrid Engine, which the brand claim offers a ‘more precise, flexible and fasters’ method of modelling analogue circuitry. Mercurial say, “As the pioneers of integrating neural networks in amp sims, it took us five years of research and development to create the Neural Hybrid Engine and successfully build SS-11X using it. We also applied our tube curve tracer machine to make sure each tube model is unique, just as in real life.” The SS-11X is out this autumn, for $39.99.…

CLASSIC ALBUM 2 Bad Mice Kaotic Chemistry Sm:)e Communications, 1995 Words by Roy Spencer © Guy Henstock icture the scene: we’re at an end-of-terrace house in Stevenage – 55 Conifer Walk, to be exact. A curious music rumbles the top left window, as it would most nights in the early ’90s. It’s a bedroom studio, owned by Rob Playford (behind the legendary Moving Shadow label), and inside, a seismic shift in underground music is happening. Rob, alongside Sean O’Keeffe and Simon Colebrooke, are tinkering with the musical mechanisms that would arm dancefloor dynamite. They brought vinyl to sample, and had riffs from last night’s rave running around their heads as Rob, channelling their inspirations and enthusiasm, is interpreting their vision – heavy on the fast, chopped, breakbeats, and awash with…

ALBUM REVIEWS ALBUM OF THE MONTH Tim Hecker Konoyo Kranky © Mayumi Hosokura The beautiful and transcendental Konoyo is the ninth studio album from Canadian experimental composer and producer, Tim Hecker. Two years on from his last record, the much-lauded Love Streams, the prolific sound artist veers down a vastly different and untrodden path with Konoyo. Drawing heavily from a form of Japanese classical music performed at the Imperial Court, gagaku, Hecker creates a fascinating hybrid soundscape that straddles the ancient and the modern with electronic abstractions and psychedelic minimalism. Having built a pool of source material through various trips to Japan where he worked with members of Tokyo Gakuso, a gagaku ensemble, in a temple on the outskirts of Tokyo, the innovative producer manipulates and reconstructs this material to…

RECOMMENDED Connan Mockasin Jassbusters Mexican Summer His first solo LP since 2013’s career-changing Caramel, Jassbusters is the typically leftfield and surreal third album from New Zealand’s woozy, off-kilter indie-pop specialist, Connan Mockasin. The record is a pseudo-soundtrack for an unpredictable five-part melodrama created by Mockasin himself. Just like 2010’s Forever Dolphin Love and Caramel from five years ago, Jassbusters is experimental, indefinable and unconventional. Laidback, dreamy and intimate, few artists are able to bring the listener so deep into their own created world as Mockasin does. Woozy guitars, low-slung grooves, warm synths, lush melodies and cosy bass curdle together in a liquid soundscape that drifts between moods, tempos and genres with a natural and contented ease. Mockasin’s distinctive, ethereal vocals add yet another trippy layer to the record, but it…

Strike while an idea is hot Being ready to respond at the speed of your imagination is crucial in the world of commercial music. Here’s how a promising idea can take shape… There is a reason why musicians the world over carry devices for mobile recording: because they know that the best ideas can strike at any moment. Until the advent of the smartphone, you’d find musicians carrying dictaphones just so they were ready to sing a sketch of a lyric, or a hook, or even beat-box a rhythmic pattern. These days, apps make this process so much faster, not just in terms of recording a raw idea, but also in terms of transferring it to your computer for production. In the following example, you can see how a few…

Work Smarter In The Studio Sound mining – an alternative approach Here we postpone programming software instruments until we’ve mined some promising audio first 01 We open Reaktor 6 and choose Metaphysical Function Sound Generator from Reaktor’s core library. We print three promising sounds as audio files. Each is too random to work completely but contains some promising content. We add each audio file to the project audio window so it can quickly be added to the project. Finally, we set up three audio tracks and drag each file to its own track. 02 We take the most rhythmically defined audio file and chop a section which suggests a rhythm we can work with. The resulting section is five bars long, which could work well; a 5-bar loop playing against…

THE TRACK Anja Schneider Sanctuary feat. Stereo MCs Sous Music 2017 © Joe Branston Anja Schneider is a creative force to be reckoned with. She landed her first Berlin DJ residency in the mid-’90s and has kept up a hectic schedule of international touring ever since. She’s a prolific radio host across Europe, as well as taste-making label boss. She helmed the influential Mobilee label and its offshoot Leena throughout the late ’00s, giving a platform to the likes of Nicole Moudaber, Maya Jane Coles and Pan-Pot. Since 2017, her focus has shifted to new label Sous Music, on which she released her second artist album, SoMe, last year. As a producer, Schneider prefers to work in collaboration. For recent projects she’s teamed up with longtime friends/production partners Jan-Eric Scholz…

PRODUCER’S GUIDE iZotope Neutron 2 Some companies release channel strips, but the Massachusetts-based tech firm never do anything by halves: Neutron 2 is a fully-featured ‘mix assistant’ plugin that uses AI and machine learning technology to help you get things done. Naturally, Neutron s announcement in 2016, and its subsequent update last year, could have easily come with trigger warnings for production purists, with allegations of ‘auto-mixing’ and ‘no talent needed’ among the reactions by the general public. But if there’s one piece of advice we can give you about Neutron, it’s “Don’t dismiss it” – this software can give you a starting point, sure, but this simply frees up more time to go in-depth on your mix where it counts. With the advanced tools on offer, Neutron can stand…

QUICK TIPS 1 The multiband Exciter’s four distortion types are tempting to blend, laid out in their X/Y pads, but most jobs should be covered by the corners 2 Disabled bands in Neutron’s EQ can still be selected as sidechain destinations 3 A de-esser is basically a dynamic EQ, and so you have one ready-to-rock in Neutron by using any band in the EQ 4 With the Transient Shaper, forcing a fast attack in the bass region can easily lead to distortion. Keep it slow in the low 5 Give the Phase, L/R Swap and Mono channels a flick while you’re exploring a tune in order to easily get a gauge of what your mix’s quality is like…

QUICK TIPS 1 Synth/sampler hybrid instruments can be really inspiring when you explore resampling. Synthesise an oscillator, render the result to audio, then reimport the file back into your synth for further mangling. Rinse and repeat! 2 If your instrument supports sample import and osc-to-osc FM, use complex field recordings or sampled waveforms to modulate the frequency of a synthesised oscillator. 3 Channel an ’80s synthesist and combine synthetic oscillators with sampled layers. Ie, use a plucky sampled attack layer to bolster a simple bass tone for the ultimate in synthetic punch. 4 Power-packed synths like the ones seen in this very feature often include flexible routing options. Try running signals through parallel filters, distorting at the start or end of the signal path, and routing different oscillators in different…

THE ALTERNATIVES Sequential Prophet X £3,359 DSI’s new flagship, coupling 8DIO multi-sample sets (150GB included) and user sample import (50GB space) coupled with DSI’s digital-oscillator engine, powerful modulation features, effects and stereo analogue filters davesmithinstruments.com Roland JD-XA £1,299 The XA has 64-voice PCM/Supernatural and 4-voice DCOanalogue synth engines paired with powerful filters, comprehensive modulation facilities, great effects, plus a 16-track sequencer and programmable arpeggiator roland.com Korg Kronos 2-61 £2,406 Korg’s flagship features nine engines and sample playback (and sampling), emulation of Korg’s MS-20 and Polysix, linear FM (MOD-7), plus EP/organ modelling, a 16-track sequencer and comprehensive FX korg.com…

Steinberg UR-RT4 Steinberg UR-RT4 £558 Want a decent yet compact interface loaded with high-end analogue and DSP circuitry? Jon Musgrave has just the thing When I saw that they had teamed with Rupert Neve Designs, I was intrigued Much as I like trying out new audio interfaces, in many respects the market has plateaued, making certain review outcomes, at times… predictable. So, when I saw that Steinberg had teamed with Rupert Neve Designs on their new UR interfaces, I was intrigued. The UR-RT2 and UR-RT4 couple Yamaha’s long established D-PRE mic pres with a switchable RND transformer stage. Nice idea, not least because the four transformers are individually switchable so you can select them as required. Beyond this, the UR-RT4, on paper at least, looks very similar to their well…

THE ALTERNATIVES Yamaha Montage 6 £2,098 Yamaha’s newest flagship incorporates their latest AWM2 sample and FM-X tech. There’s also motion sequencing, lots of great effects, plenty of hands-on control and you can make and import samples too uk.yamaha.com Roland JD-XA £1,249 A serious bargain! Powerful and flexible 4-voice analogue synth, 64-voice digital synth using PCM samples/ Supernatural tech, 16-track sequencer, vocoder, CV/gate, and great effects roland.com Nord Stage 3 Compact £2,358 The Stage 3 has dual panel layering/splits, authentic drawbar organ engine with authentic rotary sim, flexible piano engine for EPs/acousticpianos/clavs, a powerful polysynth based on the Lead A1, easy user-sample upload and excellent effects nordkeyboards.com…

Native Instruments Crush Pack Native Instruments Crush Pack £59 Three new effects designed to get those delightfully edgy sounds. Leo Maymind found out more Can turn your source material into something altogether unrecognisable Released right around the same time as the TRK-01 kick and bass plugin – reviewed last issue – is this new series of effects that Native Instruments have fittingly named “Crush Pack”. The pack is made up of Dirt, a distortion effect; Bite, a sample rate and bit reducer; and Freak, a frequency shifting and ring modulation plugin that may have the most tricks hidden up its sleeve. Each effect comes with a bright, eye-catching GUI and an immediately gratifying interface with which to start tweaking. While it’s very possible to jump right in and start tweaking…

Matthew Dear Bunny Ghostly International Six years after his last album under his own name, US producer Matthew Dear returns with a polished new record that continues to blur the lines between techno, experimental pop and outsider indie. Bunny follows 2012’s well-received Beams as the latest of his five studio albums, all of which have been on Ghostly International and its more dance-focused offshoot, Spectral Sound. It is another genre-bending journey across a diverse soundscape that takes us into strange, unexpected places, while all the time having fun. Dear’s idiosyncratic combination of off-kilter electro-pop productions and his instantly recognisable drawled baritone are at play again, bringing a sense of familiarity amongst otherworldly surrounds. Shimmering synths, deep grooves, warm melodies, cold electronics, intricate drum patterns and raw beats seemingly fall into…

Work Smarter In The Studio Harmony extension (and musical recycling) In this walkthrough, we’re going to recycle the foundation of a piano part to create a string line 01 We open the track we used for the Strike while the idea is hot 3-step tutorial from earlier. We want to add a string part to this track which is less pad-like but our piano playing isn’t sophisticated enough to play this in real time! So we start by copying the piano part to a new ensemble string patch. This doesn’t sound very good but it’s enough to make us think the idea is worth pursuing. 02 We remove the sustain pedal data, which is making some notes hang horribly while others hold unnaturally. We then extend…

Output channel solutions So long as you create enough of them to suit different requirements, creating output channel preset chains can save a lot of time Generally speaking, finding ways to make your music unique each time you start a new track is fundamental to the creative process. But much of this tutorial is about finding ways to save time with processes ‘around’ the creative process; the things which need to be different from one track to the next but not necessarily so different that you need to build a bespoke solution each time. Creating output channel strips which inflate and ‘master’ your work in progress is a great idea, provided you don’t end up with a one-size-fits-all approach. Through the following steps, we’ve created two chains, one for ‘moderate’…

Interview John Carpenter John Carpenter The master of horror returns to the world of movie soundtracks, revisiting the themes of his classic Halloween score for the film’s sequel. Si Truss sits down with the iconic musician and director to talk 40 years of synths… An undeniable icon of ‘genre’ cinema, John Carpenter is responsible for a string of genuine classic films that shaped the face of horror and sci-fi through the ’80s and ’90s. To many though, Carpenter has been just as influential for his music as for his movies. From his debut picture Dark Star onwards, Carpenter has composed and recorded the soundtracks to most of his films, leaning heavily on raw, minimal synth compositions that combine his love of riff-driven rock with the influence of acts like Goblin and…

Anja Schneider The Track Creating Sanctuary’s synth lines Anja and Jan combine hardware and plugins to build the track’s intersecting synth lines 01 > The Rhodes Chroma Polaris provides drones and drawn-out notes. “It’s a really old synth,” Jan says, “I’m proud that it still works!” A Line 6 DL4 helps create long, drawn-out delays. 02 > For the bass, Jan heads for the Access Virus. “I know it a lot, so it’s really easy to get a sound,” he explains. “We just played around with it. We did a really long session playing around with the cutoff and release. Then I cut it up to find the right parts for the right place.” 03 > The Virus bassline is automated further in Live, using EQ…

Splitting the atom “ Track Assistant is the most talked-about featur” Neutron is a massive package with a lot to offer. You may have heard of its AI functionality and its machine-learned algorithms, but there’s loads more to get your cursor on. At its core, Neutron is a channel strip plugin, offering a reorderable strip of six processors – Gate, EQ, two Compressors, Exciter and Transient Shaper – to do the actual signal sculpting legwork. We’ll show you those in the tutorial below. To make the most of Neutron, the idea is that you add it to every track (or a number of buses) in a mix, allowing the different instances to communicate with and react to each other. For large projects, small CPUs or tracks you want to mix…

Producer’s Guide To iZotope Neutron 2 Using Neutron 2’s Track Assistant for AI mixing This handy tool listens to your instruments and provides a starting point for you to take things further 01 > Here’s a multitrack project in need of some mixing. We start by inserting a Neutron instance over every single channel. We’ve included the files for this track online on FileSilo so that you can do this for yourself. 02 > We start with the guitar track, launching Neutron and hitting Track Assistant. We have Instrument, Style and Intensity (of processing) options to choose from, and then we click next, solo the track and let Neutron hear it. 03 > Neutron has set up an EQ, a single-band compressor and an Exciter, and selected some settings for them…

In The Studio With Mella Dee Mella Dee Rave revivalist Ryan Aitchison is defined by his enthusiasm for driving techno fused with elements of house and hardcore. Danny Turner visits his analogue haven to find a producer beholden to an old-school approach © George Fairbairn His accent may immediately define him, but Yorkshire was not big enough to contain Ryan Aitchinson’s talent. A protagonist of Doncaster’s rough and ready rave scene, yet characterised by his willingness to experiment beyond the confines of the sounds that once influenced him, Aitchinson has strived to create his own take on warehouse music through his multifaceted productions and Warehouse record label. From his early releases with Woozee under the pseudonym Mista Men to his breakthrough Rhythm Nation tape that found favour with Shy FX’s Digital…

In The Studio With Foxtrott Foxtrott The French-Canadian producer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist tells James Russell how her background in film helps her connect the real world with the musical world… with the help, she admits, of a few rather cool synths You never quite know what’s coming next from Foxtrott. Marie-Hélène L Delorme has spun yarns of varying colours: a background in film sound had a big influence on the Foxtrott sound. Marie-Hélène’s other previous work includes production for Cadenza, Random Recipe, Jean-Michel Blais and Pierre Kwenders, among others, and her first album, A Taller Us, saw its release London label One Little Indian in 2015. This year’s Meditations releases are something of a triptych, the Meditations I EP offering up nostalgic production values, and Meditations II pushing the sonic envelope…

Six of the best do-it-all powersynths Spectrasonics Omnisphere 2 | £339 A firm favourite for producers and composers, this synthesis juggernaut supplies tons of synthesis types: VA, wavetable, granular, and much more. Vengeance-Sound VPS Avenger | £175 Up to eight oscillators (all synthesis types, sample import and even multisamples available), a drum sequencer(!), and beyond. UVI Falcon | €349 A semimodular beast of a hybrid that can perform multiple sampling and synthesis types side-by-side. You can even make your own instrument designs with LUA scripting. Apple Alchemy | The star of last issue’s Toolkit on granular synths, the ex-Camel Audio synth-and-sample-mangler can also be used for spectral, additive, formant and VA synthesis. Steinberg HALion 6 | £300 No longer just a sampler, this now offers multiple synthesis types, plus features…

Waldorf Quantum Waldorf Quantum £3,500 Waldorf’s intriguing Quantum pairs a futuristic interface with boundary-bending synth technology! Dan ‘JD73’ Goldman travels into the future! From the beastly Wave, through to their Nave and Largo software instruments, to the Studiologic Sledge, Blofeld and Pulse series, Waldorf never do the norm when it comes to synths! However, they haven’t had a wow-factor flagship for a while and although they teased the Stromberg a few years back, it never came to fruition. Fast-forward to 2018 and Waldorf have their flagship Quantum and it looks and feels stunning. Designed by the industrial design gurus at Design Box (led by Axel Hartmann), whatever angle you view the Quantum from it impresses, whether that be the moody charcoal grey metal case, the beautiful silver aluminium framing/trim which…

Moog Grandmother Moog Grandmother £879 The latest ’mother arrives clad in retro chic – and boasts all of its original Moog teeth too. Scot Solida spends some quality time with this thoroughly modern old-timer… It probably doesn’t need to be said that Moog are a company that know a thing or two about modular synths. Their latest is Grandmother – a semi-modular equipped with 32-note, velocity-sensitive Fatar keyboard, sequencer, arp and spring reverb. This venerable old dame is bedecked in the finest retro chic. The panel is divided into multicoloured ‘modules’ that include Sequencer (yellow), Modulation (black), Oscillators (pale blue), Mixer and Utilities (both black), Filter (green), VCA (black) and Spring Reverb (red). Each offers the controls that you would be expecting, along with a combined total of 35 1/8-inch…

Sequential Prophet X Sequential Prophet X £3,359 Dave Smith’s new flagship uses a ‘sample + synthesis’ digital engine with new stereo analogue filters. Dan ‘JD73’ Goldman gets seriously Xcited! DSI’s hybrid products such as the Prophet VS, Poly Evolver, Tempest, Prophet 12 and Pro 2 still deservedly have numerous users and in many ways the Poly Evolver is the prequel to DSI’s latest hybrid, the Prophet X. Badged as a Sequential product, the Prophet X looks menacing with its dark grey metal case and chassis, grey-stained wooden end cheeks, warm orange backlit wheels and switches and dual assignable touchstrips. Build quality is solid; all the switchgear and knobs feel tank-like and very roadworthy. Prophet X’s 61-note velocity/aftertouchenabled keybed also feels very high-quality and, although it’s a little more stiffly sprung…

FXpansion Cypher 2 FXpansion Cypher 2 £159 A former DCAM Synth Squad stablemate returns as a modern, MPE-ready softsynth. Si Truss gets expressive… Like its sister-instrument Strobe, the original Cypher started life as part of FXpansion’s three-instrument DCAM Synth Squad package. A near decade later, we now have a standalone sequel that builds on the concept of the original in some fairly forward-thinking ways. At core, Cypher 2 is an analogue-style subtractive synth. Its sonic USP, however, comes from the complex, audio-rate modulation options offered by its oscillators. To this end, it offers up three oscillators each with a continuous wave shape control and flexible frequency modulation options allowing the trio to be routed to one another’s pitch in any combination. There are also options for oscillators sync, ring modulation,…

Improve left-hand dexterity? I often struggle with left-hand chords and my finger strength! How can I improve this quickly? Improving finger stamina can be done in a few ways. Firstly, learning scales and arpeggios will really help, so grab a scale book from any retailer and work through them slowly, concentrating on the quality/tone of every note you play. With regards to finger strength, Schirmer’s Scales and Finger Exercises book is also a good place to start. However, if you don’t read music there are some other things you can try which should help anyone wanting to improve their LH/RH keyboard skills!…