Sep 17
I remember a time when no DJ worth his salt took CD players seriously (I say his, because they were all blokes back then). The objections were longer than a 12” (remember those?). “CDs are all very well, but what are you going to do when one starts jumping in the middle of a set?”…“It’s not like you can scratch with them is it?” “CDs? What next, female DJs?” Enter Pioneer (DJ booth left), with their now legendary CDJ-1000s, which, combined rock solid performance, optimal ergonomics, industrial build quality and the ability to emulate the entire cannon of vinyl tricks…and then some. The CDJs revolutionised the industry to such an extent that it’s almost impossible to find a club that doesn’t have a pair. But with a whole new generation getting their tunes direct from the net (some even, legally…) and the ever growing popularity of laptop DJing with Live, Traktor and Serrato, it seems that the graffiti’s on the wall for CDs. So what next? Continue reading »
Tagged with: DJ • Hardware • Music • Previews
Sep 26
It seems like there’s a million soft synths on the market. Most are pretty good, a few are excellent. Albino? It’s one in a million! Continue reading »
Tagged with: Music • Plugins • Reviews • Soft Synths • Software
Jul 06
If you work with loops or breakbeats, you’ll love Propellerheads ReCycle. Simply Open it up, load in an audio file and move the sensitivity slider to the right. As you do so, the program uses some clever algorithms to slice up your file into…’slices’, (conveniently visualised in its waveform display). The further you drag this slider, the smaller these slices get, until you’ve broken it down into discrete rhythmic components (e.g. kick, snare, hats, etc.). Continue reading »
Tagged with: Music • Reviews • Software
May 24
In 1981, Roland released the Jupiter 8 synthesizer. A true flagship, it offered, amongst other things, a massive (for the time) 8 voices, keyboard split and layering, a powerful arpeggiator, a unison mode…and lots of sexy multi coloured buttons. Most importantly though, it was more reliable and flexible than many of its contemporaries. Continue reading »
Tagged with: Music • Reviews • Soft Synths • Software
Apr 13
Absynth is one of the best sound design tools out there. Like its brethren, ‘Battery’ (reviewed below) and ‘FM8′ (review coming soon), it has recently had a makeover.
If you’re not already familiar with this soft synth, then check out my Absynth 3 review. If, on the other hand, you already know the score, read on. Continue reading »
Tagged with: Music • Plugins • Reviews • Soft Synths • Software
Apr 05
If you’re not familiar with Battery, it’s a dedicated drum sampler by Native Instruments, which makes editing samples and creating kits easier than making jokes about bad drummers. Continue reading »
Tagged with: Music • Plugins • Reviews • Soft Synths • Software
Mar 27
All Posts, Animation, Audio/Music, Design, Film, News, Photography, Photoshop, Previews, Software, VJ, Video, Web
Those of you who read my blog will know that at the end of January, I spent half a day at an exclusive press event (and a further half day at a follow up event a couple of weeks ago). Since both events were under Non Disclosure Agreement, I was unable to say anything more until now…when I can exclusively reveal that they were previews of Adobe’s Creative Suite 3, which will be formerly announced today. Continue reading »
Tagged with: Animation • Design • Film • Music • Previews • Software • Video • VJ • Web
Mar 22
It’s not every day you get to meet a recording industry legend, but on Monday, Rupert Neve, got to meet me!
R is Legendary in recording industry circles, where his name is synonymous with the absolute best in analogue mixing console design. Chances are at least some of your music collection will have been recorded and mixed through one of his bespoke consoles. So obviously it was a great honour for R to finally come face to face with The Rebbe, at the opening of Sonic Distribution’s new demo facilities at Canalot studios in London. Continue reading »
Tagged with: Hardware • Music • News
Jan 02
Everyone’s favourite audio application is back with a brand new version and having spent some time putting it through its paces, I have to say, it rocks!
Often, when manufacturers release a new version of their software, it’s with a brand new interface, which is necessary because the old one sucked…not that the new interface is generally any better, it’s just different…and by the time you’ve finished learning how to use it…and all of its new and overly complicated functionality…the manufacturer has released a new version of the software…with a brand new interface…because the old one sucked… Continue reading »
Tagged with: DAWs • DJ • Music • Software
Dec 18
If you want to run an old school DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) package on your PC, you have a choice of three applications, Cubase, Pro Tools and Sonar. Of these, Sonar is, relatively rapping, the new kid on the blog, but don’t underestimate it…though it doesn’t have quite the same pedigree as its two main rivals, it costs half the price, offers a very similar feature set and has some unique tricks up its sleeve, that make it worthy of serious consideration. Continue reading »
Tagged with: DAWs • Music • Reviews • Software
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