Music • Sound • Video • Art

OK. So I was, um, not thinking. If I had been, why would I make a resolution only TWO WEEKS before NAMM to NOT buy any new synth plug-ins before June 2009? I don’t even have the excuse of being hung over. Oh well…

Here are some damn interesting things announced on the first day of NAMM, several of which will migrate into my possession at some point this year. (Note that except for a short discussion of Live8, this is mostly a list with links. I’ll write more on each of these in the future.)

Ableton announces LIVE 8…

The biggest surprise to me was the announcement of Ableton Live8. Caught me completely by surprise.

First, if you have not checked out the videos on Ableton’s site, please do. Reading about the new features is not nearly as effective (IMHO) as seeing some of them in action. I’ve provided links to YouTube videos below, but better quality videos are available directly from Ableton at this link: http://www.ableton.com/home?movie=4

First up, there is an overview of Live8…

Hey!

Another quick update, this time on music production and music tool tutorials.

When you post a “how-to” question about music software on some discussion boards, you can often get a “RTFM” (Read The Effin’ Manual) response. And although I essentially agree with the sentiment, I find that a) I hardly have time,** and b) the softwares we are dealing with are increasingly complex. And those two facts tend to reinforce each other.

Because of this, I think my learning style has changed. I appreciate and enjoy video tutorials. I can see and watch how something is done, and I pick it up much quicker. Of late, I’ve come across some really nice tutorials:

• Digital Performer by MacAudioLab– First up is a set of new DP6 tutorials from MacAudioLab. These were just released in the last month or so. They are the only comprehensive set of tutorials on DP6 on the market at present. (The other set of DP6 tutorials out there by TutorialDepot are decent bite-sized chunks, but I’d hardly call them comprehensive.) Some of the material is taken from their DP5 tutorials (the bits that have not changed between versions), but there is A LOT of new material including several tutorials on MOTU’s VIs (MX4, MachFive2, Ethno) plus other material. I have to give it the thumbs up.
• Native Instruments KORE2 by MacProVideo — KORE is a very deep and potentially complex instrument. This set of tutorials from MacProVideo go a long way towards making KORE2 accessible. Highly recommended.
• Omnisphere and Stylus RMX by Spectrasonics — Spectrasonics puts out a set of video tutorials on Omnisphere that is very helpful in getting your head around the instrument. Same with Stylus RMX. You have to own these instruments to get access to the video tutorials, but if you do own either, and if you have not taken adavntage of these resources — stop wasting time and go there now to download them. The RMX videos are fantastic and I’m sure the Omni videos will follow in the same vein when all of them are done.
• Absynth3 and Kontakt 2 Tutorial DVDs by Native Instruments — Yes I know these are tutorials on older versions of the software, but 90% of the stuff on them is relevant and valid. These are available from Native Instruments on DVD (no downloadable options), and require a bit of investment in your time as they are very in-depth. But they are well worth it.

There are a few more that I am going through right now. As soon as I have enough of an impression, I’ll post info on them to.

Well, that’s it for now. Cheers!

nk:e

Well September is shaping up to be a heck of a month for VI & VE releases…

Available Now!

First up is the much anticipated release of Omnisphere by Spectrasonics. Based on an in house software engine called ‘STEAM‘. (Get it? The STEAM engine? Hardee Har Har.) It looks to be a deep instrument with loads of efx on call.

The build up to this has been going on since the January NAMM show. And I have to say, I like the way they went about it: Every 6 weeks or so, they released video shorts on some aspect of the product. A couple of videos in particular stood out: One video provided a brief and well produced history of synthesizers and synthesis. (If you want to know why sound presets are called “patches”, check it out.) The other featured their crazy sampling approaches.

Personally, I’m looking forward to it. Eric Persing and crew do great work, so expectations are high. And they are particularly high for owners of Atmosphere as Spectrasonic’s intel Mac-based wrapper for the old plug-in leaves many cold. I hope that one can get into the sounds’ design to a great degree if only to “de-hollywood” them a bit. (IMHO Spectrasonic’s stuff has a very slick, made for the screen, heavily produced sound. Good for lots of stuff, but not everything…)

Ordered mine this morning. Look for first impressions soon after it arrives…