Something For Nothing…

Propellerheads Rebirth & Daz|Studio 3D suite V1.0 featured in MC Rebbe's editorial in The TechnofileCertain things are synonymous with the halcyon days of dance music, like raving in a field in the middle of nowhere until 6am …3 days after the DJs has gone home…and then realising that the tablet you paid thirty quid for was actually a paracetamol…

Even more synonymous with dance, especially for producers and musicians, are the Roland 303, 808 and 909, which between them created the sounds of Acid House, Trance and old school Hip Hop.

Roland stopped making these legendary machines years ago, but demand for their sounds persisted, so in 1997, Propellerheads stepped up and filled the void with their ‘ReBirth’ plug in. Providing two virtual 303s, a virtual 808 and adding, in its later incarnation, a virtual 909, it was, to many, the first really credible software synth and quickly developed a loyal following of users, many of whom made modifications that included different sounds and skins.

Propellerheads recently announced that they have ceased development and support of Rebirth. That’s the bad news. The good news is that it’s now available as a free download for Windows 9x/Xp and Mac OS 9 (there’s no OSX version but it will run on OSX in Classic mode). There’s also a new site to accompany it, www.rebirthmuseum.com which, as well as the download itself, includes a multitude of user mods and other extras, a message board and a history of the software. Alternatively, Rebirth users can download the free Rebirth Refill for Reason 3 direct from www.propellerheads.se

And if that’s not enough, for anyone who wants to get into 3D (or should that be FreeD?), Daz Productions have recently released Daz|Studio 3D suite V1.0. A brand new application, it aims to provide an easy route into 3D by allowing you to work with pre-designed 3D elements and characters (made by Daz and others) to quickly and simply create 3D environments and animations. The price? Simply promise to tell two friends about it and you can download it for free from http://www.daz3d.com/

I guess there is such a thing as a free lunch after all!

MC Rebbe

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