Table of contents for 03/2022 in Beat English

1 Sound source The basic idea - usually a simple 16th note sequence of one bar length - is quickly created and a field in which modular systems feel at home. But other synth is also suitable for this, whether with or without a sequencer, because patterns can be drawn in the DAW at the latest. However, the way via hardware is usually more intuitive. 2 Modular power For our workshop we use a DFAM, which with its strong basic sound and 8-step sequencer is perfect for techno hooklines. Alternatively, you can use the DFAM emulations for the VCV Rack and the Voltage Modular. You can find both in the magazine downloads. For a typical hook line with the necessary hypnotic content … 3 Frequency modulation … sine or triangle…

1 Creating dirt Our tool of choice is the MS-20, because if there is a synth that stands for dirt and snot, there should hardly be a more suitable candidate. Alternatively, the Chorg PS-20 by K Brown or the Reaktor Ensemble MS-20 clone would be a good choice. You can find both in the magazine downloads. As a basis, we use both oscillators at full volume. 2 Setting the oscillators VCO1 becomes a square with pulse width at 11 o‘clock, so that the sound turns out less clunky, and VCO2 a sawtooth. Both are pitched down to the maximum, i.e. SCALE 32‘ for VCO1, and SCALE 16‘ and PITCH -12 for VCO2. We leave the controls for the high pass filter at zero, since we don‘t need it, but turn…

Modulation with effects with the Korg modwave by Beat author Matthias Sauer Many modern synthesizers integrate a powerful effects section and are keen on modulation - including the current wavetable synth Korg modwave. Especially the sonically convincing Master Reverb may be included in the synth programming more often. Unlike the related Korg Wavestate, there is a separate send control for the two layers. A pad for layer A can be used without or with little reverb, while a ticking arpeggio on layer B sinks deep in sound clouds and is also dynamically modulated. With the free „modwave Editor Librarian“ the entries are done relatively fast. Click on „layer B send“ at the Master Reverb, go to modulations and select „Kaoss Distance“ as source with a moderate positive value for „…

1 Foundation The most important things when choosing a synth are a rich basic sound and a decent distortion section. Fortunately, our Thorn Solo offers both, so we load it onto a new track and select the square waveform as the basis for oscillator 1, which we transpose down an octave at the same time. The other standard waveforms sawtooth, sine and triangle also work. 2 Pitch modulation With a sine, the kick sounds cleaner and reminiscent of typical 90s hardcore kicks, while the sawtooth turns out rougher. To make the sound become a kick, we connect ENV 1 to „All OSC Pitch“ in MOD MATRIX and set DEPTH to around 40%. Lower all controls on ENV 1, only decay to about 15%. The higher the value the rounder and…

1 The sample Our track consists of an electric guitar sample that we make sound as if we recorded it from an old cassette deck using the Tape Cassette effect from the IK Multimedia Mixbox. Since the controls already make the effect sound very fast, we set WOW, FLUTTER, SATURATION and TAPESNAPS to around 8 percent. 2 Boring pattern Let‘s move on to the 808, which was played monophonically through the Logic sampler. Our first recorded 808 pattern was pretty boring, as you can hear in Track 1 of the audio samples. By the way: If you need a punchy sound, make sure to achieve a Velocity between 105 and 127 when playing in the 808 (depending on the sample). 3 Additional steps One reason why our pattern sounded so…

1 Layering sounds Bass sounds often consist of several layers. Above the sub is a second bass, an octave higher; and above that, more, depending on the genre and intended vibe. Either create an instrument rack with different bass sounds or program the bass using a MIDI controller and something with different oscillators, like the Operator. 2 Design characteristics The bass gets its character from the midrange. Design this extremely carefully. For the Sub, use a Sine, Triangle or Square Wave with a low-pass filter. Use the Decay and Sustain of the amp envelope to shape the desired character. Mix the Sub to the other layers in such a way that it supports them but does not overpower them. 3 Program bassline Just as important as the sound design is…

1 Record with dirt mic First, you need a mic setup with an additional dirt mic. You place this near the drum set. A position that focuses on the bass drum and snare is popular. The model doesn‘t matter for now. Record a simple beat that will help you judge the mix. Adjust the mic position if necessary. 2 Check phase As in almost all cases of individual signal processing, it is also recommended that you check the phase of the dirt track. To do this, load the phase tool into the track, listen to all tracks simultaneously, and pay attention to possible cancellations. After all, the overall sound should be enlarged and not reduced. The general rule is: Whatever you like is allowed. 3 Clean up with EQ Depending…

Dawesome Abyss It‘s always a pleasure to discover synths that go their own innovative ways instead of well-known virtual-analog paths. One of these is undoubtedly the „Visual Synthesizer“ Abyss, which visualizes sounds with the help of different colors. At the center of the scalable user interface is the so-called Tone Color Gradient: You can place any sounds from the pool of over 2000 tones on this color beam. Each tone color can be modified using spectral processing. By modulating the position on the color gradient, as well as other synthesis parameters, you can create impressive sound gradients. Modulation options include two ADSR envelopes, three LFOs / step sequencers, and various MIDI controllers. The pitch of Abyss can be quantized to a selectable scale - this is especially exciting for pitch…

Let‘s briefly introduce the candidates. With 32 (!) freely adjustable bands - instead of the 24 of the FabFilter - the Kirchhoff EQ offers extensive possibilities. The tool of the Chinese manufacturer Three-Body-Technology looks simple at first glance, but with 30 vintage EQ types, 15 filters, dynamic tools and many other features it turns out to be a real flagship. The 15 filter types include Bandpass, Bell and Notch, Tilt Shelf, Flat Tilt, Flat Top as well as Brickwall Low Pass, Brickwall High Pass, Allpass Low and Allpass High. The Sword mode is helpful for mixing, because it is used to eliminate resonances with its high slope. The slope is continuously adjustable up to 96 dB - a great feature. Eight hardware EQs were simulated for the filter types, whereby…

Flame Sound Inferno SFX Standard Flame Sound is a new label that has created Inferno SFX, a cinematic sample package for composers, film and music producers and sound designers. The 220 samples are made in four versions, each embodying different atmospheres. For each version, there are nine categories: Accents, booms, braams, downshifters, emotion, impacts, textures, tension and transitions. From bass-heavy, impactful hits, to short sound effects, to tense impacts. Under Emotion there are drones and atmo chords to discover. Behind the sounds hide massive drops and synthetic-orchestral sounds. Uneasy and surreal atmospheres are housed in the textures. Verdict The over 3 GB of sounds are ideal for exciting transitions in music production and for scoring game and film scenes. Even more material is available in the premium product Inferno SFX…

Even though the UC-1 is basically „just“ a USB controller, the device feels like a real mix console. The feel and look are excellent; and with dimensions of 296 x 62.7 x 266 mm, there is plenty of space between the controls. The sturdy brushed-metal-look chassis has a classic mixer layout and stands a tidy 2.5 kg high sturdily on the desktop. Fold-out supports allow for a user-friendly angled setup. Besides very long LED chains for level indication, there is even a VU meter with needle to display real-time reduction by the compressor. But the advantages of digital mixing consoles have also been implemented: The knobs are encoders whose position is automatically adjusted to the current EQ and compressor settings after loading a project and displayed via LED wreath. Audible…

1 Create track setup Prepare your individual setup: If you want to sing live, create a vocal track for each voice you want to record. To keep the setup on Push as clear as possible, it is best to limit yourself to a maximum of 8 tracks. Alternatively, you can record one or more instruments, as well as MIDI instruments. 2 Configure tracks For each track, choose Input&Output from Push‘s Mix menu. Select Ext. In for Input Type and Auto for Monitoring. In the Preferences under Record, Warp, Launch, set the Exclusive switch for Arm to On. Select a standard warp mode suitable for your recording. If in doubt, simply select Complex. 3 Preferences Set the Standard Launch Mode for clips to Toggle. This way, the clip starts the first…

The common thread: Beat issue 03/2022 For many years, Beat has been inspiring its readers not only with practical and musical topics, but above all with the tight integration of editorial content. From the very beginning, Beat has been about creating, about the structured building of ideasand the common thread - in the magazine as well as in the tracks. This navigator shows you the highlights of this issue andallows you to see the big picture. Studio Insights: Nightmares On Wax Due to health problems and an involuntary forced DJ break, George Evelyn, the artist of Nightmares On Wax, was forced to completely reevaluate his life and likewise his music. Danny Turner brought more on this. Page 54 Review: Dreadbox Nymphes With Nymphes, the likeable little company presents a synthesizer…

1 Two basses … the song offers two of them: The first one is a relatively classic 16th note bass à la psytrance, while the second one serves as a kind of stab that is used regularly, especially after the break, to give the song more drive. Since we want a strong foundation, we create both with the SE-3X (alternatively Thorn Solo). 2 Three oscillators For the stab, a fat basic sound is important, which we achieve by using all three oscillators, the first two of which provide sawtooth and square, respectively, while the third provides the triangle waveform. We also tune OSC 2 up 12 semitones. We drive the volume of OSC 1 and 3 to almost full blast, OSC 2 only to the 57%. 3 Sound design But…

I have three iPads and a Surface Pro 4 permanently installed in my studio. The mounts are screwed to my desk in places that are ergonomically convenient for me, so that the tablets have a fixed place and the cables are out of the way. All of the iPads are equipped with UR22 or UR44 audio interfaces from Steinberg, through which they can charge the battery on the one hand and have a decent audio out on the other. In addition, each iPad has its own MIDI port. By the way, all USB interfaces that are class compliant, i.e. do not require separate drivers, are suitable. Almost all current interfaces meet this requirement. The audio outputs of the iPads end up in Behringer XR18 mixers, of which I have a…

1 Layer kicks The most common technique for creating juicy, smashing trap kicks is to layer a kick and sub bass. The former usually stays on the same pitch while the latter can play melodies. For our workshop we use the DrumSynth of an MPC Live, alternatively we can use the free MPC Beats [1]. 2 Bass layer In the MPC we load the DrumSynth:Kick on the first free track and select Eighty as MODEL. We set tune to C, so that the right notes sound when playing chromatically. For the necessary belly, 50% decay and 70% sweep are sufficient, all other parameters are set to 0%. For a rougher sound we activate distortion. 3 Emphasize subbass We set drive to 30 dB and mix to 100%. The kick still…

» I find subversive art exciting! « Beat / Your music is highly political. When did you first feel the need to change the world through art? Ferhat / At first, I was just a little bored with my work as an actor. When I say something there, it‘s not my own words. At some point I also wanted to share my own point of view, my opinions with the world. My first own song was written from my point of view as an actor and dealt with the topic of fame and celebrity culture. Photo: Sareh Oveysi But then suddenly crazy things happened in my home country, Turkey. I was shocked, as if paralyzed, and wanted to convey the situation there through my music. Beat / Do you see…

1 Beat from DrumSynth We start with an empty project, load the DrumSynth:Multi with the Techno preset and play in a simple beat. In particular, the kick and the dissonant sound of Pad 7 provide pressure. Using the CHANNEL MIXER, we load the PEQ-4 Band and the Compressor Master into the plugin channel. With the EQ, we reduce the low mids at 500 Hz by 9 dB. 1 2 Bounce to sample In addition, reduce the highs from 8 kHz by -3 dB. Consequently, the sub and mids are pushed by the compressor, where we set THRESHOLD to -17 and RATIO to 4. Overall, this makes the beat softer and more voluminous. Then, we use BOUNCE TO SAMPLE in the track options, normalize the sample and place it on a…

1 Import tracks Enclosed you will find two WAV files from the song „Panama“ by Matthias Basedow. Import the electric bass recording and the instrumental track into a Cubase project with a tempo of 95 BPM. Duplicate the bass track by right-clicking on the track under Duplicate Selected Tracks and name them Bass Sub and Bass Mids. 2 Two bands Load Frequency as an insert effect on both bass tracks. On the Bass Mids track, activate Band 1 and turn on LIN for Linear Phase mode. Position the band at 100 Hz and set it to Cut 24. Do the same for Bass Sub, but with Band 8 of the equalizer to place a Lowpass at 100 Hz. 3 Subbass Now, the low end and the mids of the bass…

When George Evelyn released Nightmares on Wax’s debut album A Word of Science; The First and Final chapter on Warp Records in 1991, he could not have envisaged that he’d still be signed to the label 30 years later. In between, he’s been a pioneering force on the downtempo scene, shaping, defining and blending elements of electronica, jazz, hip-hop, dub, funk, soul and techno on classic albums such as Smokers Delight, Carboot Soul and In a Space Outta Sound. However, after decades of DJing and touring, the pandemic finally gave Evelyn space to pause and re-evaluate his history, while a health scare simultaneously forced him to seriously reflect on his next step. Questioning whether this might be his last album, Shout Out! To Freedom… was infused with an added sense…

Beat / How did the idea for Abyss come about? Peter / It all started with the idea of making sound design more accessible and intuitive. Sound design can be so much fun - but sometimes it feels more like „programming“ sounds rather than an artistic process. The second starting point was my desire for an instrument that combined the organic sound quality of natural samples with the flexibility of a synthesizer. At some point, this evolved into the idea of representing sounds through colors … and from there it was not far to the concept of Abyss. Beat / Can you explain the concept of the synthesizer? Peter / In Abyss, sounds are represented by colors. To create a sound, you select some basic colors and can arrange them…

Vocoder are not a common thing in the modular world. And this even though they naturally produce rather special sounds, which should be just about the credo for any rack. With the Vocorder (note the „r“ in the middle, a play on words from recorder and vocoder), manufacturer Flame offers much more than that because, in addition to the actual vocoder, a filter bank and a so-called spectral looper are also included. We‘ll explain exactly what this is all about in a moment. This module can be fed with an analysis signal, usually drums or voices, and a synthesis signal, usually pads, chords or general tonal or melodic material. The latter is not necessarily required, however, because the module offers noise and a VCO with three waveforms (sawtooth, square, DigiNoise)…

Bonobo: Fragments Simon Green, the man behind Bonobo, fled into the wilderness for his new album. That apparently inspired him as much as numerous collaborations, including with Jamila Woods, Joji, Kadhja Bonet, Jordan Rakei, O‘Flynn or Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. The title of the disc, on the other hand, is inspired by the fact that the songs are based on fragments put together. The British dance producer is moving between downtempo, smooth house, pop hooklines, rave reminiscences and ballads these days. Most of the album is danceable, groovy, and pleasing enough to appeal to a large audience. Highlights include „Otomo,“ underpinned with samples from Bulgaria‘s 100 Kaba Gaidi Choir, and „Tides,“ developed with Jamila Woods, which was like a catalyst for the entire album and would also suit a band like Morsheeba.…

Learn from the master – DJ controller by Tiësto Grammy-nominated Producer and world-star DJ Tiësto has teamed up with music provider Beatport to develop his own DJ controller - The Next Beat. Entry-level DJs are targeted as the main focus group. This Bluetooth-enabled controller features two decks, each with a jog wheel, and a 2-channel mixer. Internally, there is even a 4-channel sound card. Per channel, a 3-band tone control and a filter can be used on the mixer. Not only can hot cues and loops be set using the eight performance pads per deck, but samples can also be fired off. Up to three effects can also be activated on each deck. A dual headphone output and a microphone jack are built in. On the software side, the controller…

1 Drama queen The hookline of „The Game“ is announced fragmentarily in the breakdown and really takes off after the drop. As is often the case, simplicity is the key here: the sequence is an arpeggio of 16th notes with the notes D, E, F and G, creating a dramatic buildup. In every second round, G is replaced by a lower C and an A. 2 Peak / Thorn Solo So that the arpeggio doesn‘t just run through, the sequence starts with a 16th an octave lower and ends with a 16th an octave higher. The exact structure can be found in the MIDI file in the download part for the special. Much more important, however, is the sound we build with the Novation Peak. Alternatively, you can use our…

1 Maschine & Massive Due to his weakness for the Serum, the pluck lead probably also comes from the well known synth. For our workshop, however, we‘ll use Maschine‘s own in-house resources, namely the Massive, which is included. Alternatively, our Thorn Solo can be used here as well. Two sawtooth oscillators form the basis for the sound. 2 Short and crisp We route both exclusively to filter 1, pitch OSC2 up 12 semitones and turn amp to zero. For the filter, we select lowpass 4 and set cutoff to 11 o‘clock. And for AMP, we pull the velocity modulator into the SC (sidechain) input to make the sound dynamically playable. For Env 4, we set all levels to zero except for attack. 3 Modulations Decay we turn up to 12…

Minimoog Model D & Animoog Z Two absolute no-brainers from Moog. Besides the classic synthesizer features like ladder filter, three oscillators, fast envelopes etc. Model D also has quadruple polyphony and an arpeggiator. The Animoog Z, on the other hand, is all about modulations, i.e. movement in the sound. Graphically great done, sampling included and free! moogmusic.com 14,99 Euros (Model D) free (Animoog Z) Living Memory LayR The sound designer‘s favorite: multi-timbral synthesizer with up to 256-fold polyphony. An instrument can consist of up to 128 (!) synths, which can be edited and twisted in detail. In addition, there is a combination of arpeggiator and sequencer, full MIDI compatibility and countless presets. For around 25 euros there is nowhere more. livingmemorysoftware.com 25,99 Euros AudioKit Synth One Up to 6-voice polyphonic…

BUILD SUPERSAW BIGROOM LEADS 1 Fat, fatter, Superwave The freeware synth Superwave P8 provides us with the appropriate supersaw sound á la Roland JP-8000/8080. You can find it in the magazine downloads. After the installation we open the preset Final Countdown and close the attack slider for maximum attack in all filters and amp envelopes. In addition, we pull up both cutoff faders in filter 1 and 2. 2 Detune compression Now that the highs of the oscillator sound are fully coming through, we make the sound even denser in the Superwave detune section. There we turn the wave 2 and 3 potentiometers up to half and the wave 4 knob up to 75 percent. With this we program the original hook as the basis for our own composition. 3…

1 Massive as a basis Although we built a sound from scratch for the House Bass of this workshop, the technique also works for ready-made presets. The basis is OSC 1 with the standard wavetable Squ-Sw I (Square/Sawtooth), which we modulate with LFO 5 to create a little movement. In addition, there is a low-pass filter that is briefly opened by envelope. 2 Third interval For a bit more fullness and a more typical House Bass, we add OSC 2 as a sawtooth, transpose it to Pitch +16.00 and mix it in gently via Amp at 2 o‘clock. Nothing spectacular, then. The real show-stopper is the MODULATION OSC, a real wonder weapon for bass and all kinds of aggressive sounds. 3 Modulation OSC The Ring Mod(ulator) alone can be used…

1 Parts instead of plug-ins Many parameters like volume, pan and synth parameter control can be automated with not only track automation, but also directly in the parts. Here, you can easily and clearly create groovy pump and gate effects. Special feature: Your settings always remain firmly linked to the part when copying and moving it around. 2 Open part automation To do this, open an instrument or audio part (double-click on the lower half or „F2“). The small zigzag line on the left below the keyboard opens the part automation. With the small plus/minus buttons you can open and close additional automation windows. Opening or closing windows has no influence on the automation. 3 Preliminary steps In the tab line above the Automation Editor, select the parameter you are…

Steinberg LoFi Piano With LoFi Piano, Steinberg offers a free instrument library to enhance productions with relaxed LoFi piano sounds. The basis for this is the Halion sampler, whereby, the free Halion Sonic SE is sufficient; which we designed it especially for. LoFi Piano is based on an acoustic piano recorded with carefully selected vintage microphones and is, therefore, perfectly suited for LoFi beats, Chillhop and relaxed Retro tracks. The chords that come with each preset have been chosen to match the mood of this type of music. Of course, no one will stop you from using the LoFi Piano for other types of music, such as gloomy industrial or film music. The sound can be customized with the six builtin effects. Flutter simulates the fluctuations of an analog tape,…

Lunatic Audio Narcotic With 32 effect algorithms, the Narcotic plug-in aims to spice up your tracks and inspire new ideas. Up to six effects can be connected in series. The arsenal is recruited from Filter, Distortion, Modulation, Stereo, Delay and Reverb effects, but also includes Stutter, Glitch and LoFi effects and a compressor on-board. Each of the great-sounding effects offers several adjustable sound parameters. The highlight is that all of them can be modulated with their own step sequencer with selectable tempo and step count. Drawing sequences is quick and comfortable, and rhythmic jumps are just as successful as smooth progressions. For impressive effect rides, there is also an XY pad to which you can assign any parameter. Since both parameters of the pad can also be controlled with a…

» It is the nice in-betweens that really take the people on a journey. I get goosebumps just by talking about it. « Beat / What technologies have changed your perspective on DJing? Beth Lydi / I think the first technology that really blew me away was Traktor. After starting out with vinyl I was introduced to Traktor and the Faderfox controllers which were mind blowing. Just the opportunity to loop and beat jump was amazing and allowed more flexibility in DJing for me. However, at some point the constant setting up of the whole shebang got annoying. You feel kind of always in the way and it takes up a lot of space in your bag. Beat / So that‘s when you switched to the CDJs? Beth Lydia /…

1 Drums After successful registration [1], load a drum kit onto your pads under Sounds, for example, Mainline. To do this, play a drum pattern on your MIDI keyboard or via the keyboard for up to eight bars. When you are satisfied with this, press 1 bar, 2 bars, 4 bars or 8 bars in the Looper. Your recording is then created as a layer in the mixer. 2 Mixer Add percussion sets to the drum kit in a new layer. Create additional tracks (layers) with harmonies and a bassline by loading sounds onto the pads and playing them in. Adjust the volume ratios of the layers in the Mixer and activate the layers as desired using the Enable button. You can also adjust the Key and Tempo. 3 More…