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Tag: Softube

  • War of the Minimoog Clones – Synth News Digest 4

    War of the Minimoog Clones – Synth News Digest 4

    Roland’s announcement of their SE-02 analog synthesizer caused a buzz throughout the music tech industry. Developed in partnership with the respected synth house, Studio Electronics, the SE-02 is the first release of the Roland Boutique Designer Series, expected to be a more upscale line compared to the original Boutique Series, home to miniaturized, virtual analog versions of the venerable Jupiter-8, TR-909, TB-303 and more.

    Roland_SE-02
    Zoom in for larger Roland SE-02 knobs! Photo copyright Roland.

    While some aficionados are looking forward to its release, other synth grognards complained about the unit’s small size highlighted by the tiny knobs, making it difficult to control in a live or studio situation. The synth architecture is also quite reminiscent of the legendary Minimoog, which made many wonder if the $499 SE-02 would kill the market for Behringer’s soon-come Minimoog clone, which we previously mentioned in passing.

    Behringer soon fired off its own counterstrike, by announcing its clone, known as the Behringer D, would be priced at $299 when it hits the market in September, $100 less than previously announced. It looks like we have a Minimoog Clone Price War on our hands!

    For its own part, Moog also announced it was discontinuing the reissue of the Minimoog Model D after a year on the market. 45 years after its release, the Minimoog dominates the synth news again!

    Unfiltered Audio knows Delay is the Antidote for Anger

    Plugin developer, Unfiltered Audio, recently introduced two delay products to the music technology marketplace. Instant Delay is available exclusively through the Plugin Alliance in most standard plugin formats at a price of $49. The delay offers a host of unique features, including a tempo-synced stereo delay where you can offset one channel to the other, or a Jitter knob to introduce a measure of randomness to your sound. Cool stuff!

    The other product from Unfiltered Audio is an update to their popular Sandman delay, known as Sandman Pro. This one is also available in the standard plugin formats from the Plugin Alliance for $99, while existing Sandman users can update for $49. Known as the Swiss Army Knife of Delays, Sandman Pro features delay times up to 16 minutes (!!), and a wide range of modes, including multi-tap, reverse, tape, pitch shifting, glitch shifting, and more. A Swiss Army Knife, indeed!

    Plugin Alliance enters Partnership with Roli

    Roli continues to garner praise for its innovative line of keyboard (and other types of) controllers – I’d love one someday. Recently the company entered into a partnership with the ubiquitous Plugin Alliance, providing purchasers of the unique Roli Blocks, a free copy of the previously mentioned Instant Delay along with a voucher to purchase Sandman Pro for $29. This deal is available until November 25 of this year. Boom!

    Softube brings back the Vintage Reel-to-Reel Era

    Softube, whose Console 1 Mk II was discussed in our last news digest, recently announced, Tape, a new plugin focused on putting the warm sound of reel-to-reel tape recording into your modern DAW. Tape is available in your favorite plugin format for the price of $99. I was too late in getting this news out in time for their $79 introductory deal. Sorry!

    Tape simulates three different tape recorder styles, so experimentation is in order to find something suitable for your production. You are also able to control the plugin’s tape speed and crosstalk amount, adding a bit of vintage color to your mix. Its low CPU footprint means you can add Tape to each channel in your mix with nary a hiccup. Softube looks like they have another winner on their hands!


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  • Say Goodbye to Rebirth – Synth News Digest 3

    Say Goodbye to Rebirth – Synth News Digest 3

    Recently, the sad news hit the synth community – Propellerheads’ venerable virtual beatbox studio, Rebirth was being removed from the iTunes App Store. At first, many synthheads figured the issue was due to the 64-bit requirement in the upcoming iOS 11. I noticed that Rebirth just updated at the end of February, so there had to be something else afoot.

    And there was. It appears – after nearly two decades – Roland finally issued a “cease and desist” to Propellerheads for copyright infringement due to the TR-808, TR-909, and TB-303 simulations in the app. The Swedish music software maker obliged and Rebirth is gone from the App Store as of June 15th.

    rebirth ios
    Goodbye Rebirth! Screenshot by Author.

    Where was Roland in the late 90s, when the desktop version of Rebirth was the rage? Software synthesis intrigued me ever since I played around with Csound. That environment wasn’t amenable for live jamming with Quarkspace, so we never really used it. At that time in our history, samples were the main source for beatmaking, but I wanted to write our own loops and the timing of Rebirth’s release was perfect.

    Recaesarian (where’d we get that title?!), from 1999’s Spacefolds 5 was the first example of us jamming with Rebirth; I even added-in some of the preset patterns towards the end to freak the fellas out.

    A more concise live version developed over the years, and we cut a definitive studio take never to be released. More recently, I mashed up the Recaesarian loop with the one from The Hidden Moon’s Astral Grinder on a remix for Inside the Rift magazine.

    I used Rebirth pretty extensively for the next few years, before FL Studio – with its support for VST plugins – became my go-to beatmaker. Because of its lack of VST support until recently I never bothered with Reason, Propellerhead’s successor to Rebirth. The iOS version of Rebirth is faithful to the original, with an improved interface for wrangling patterns.

    Feeling nostalgic, I am currently working on a Rebirth project for an upcoming Church of Hed release. If you own the iOS version, make sure you back the app up. It is the end of an era, for sure.

    Kenton’s New Merge-8 MIDI Merge Unit

    Electronic musicians handling a wide range of MIDI controllers, clock sources, and computers know the value of a good MIDI merge unit. Kenton just released the Merge-8, an 8×2 MIDI merger which combines MIDI data – including clocks, time code, and SysEx – into one stream repeated at both outputs. It comes with its own power source, so you needn’t worry about a 2.2V signal not providing enough juice. The Merge-8’s street price is around 135 quid, including VAT.

    Getting your Chiptune on with Impact Soundworks Super Audio Boy

    There’s no denying the impact of video gaming music and sound effects on the music industry. If you enjoy getting your chiptune on, check out the FREE Super Audio Boy Kontakt sample library from Impact Soundworks. Now those old school Nintendo Game Boy sounds are at your fingertips – all at the perfect price! Note that this library requires the full version of Kontakt.

    Softube introduces Console 1 Mk II with UAD Plugin Support

    Universal Audio plugins remain the Holy Grail for many musicians on a budget. Softube recently introduced Console 1 Mk II, a more inexpensive version of its mixer with support for UAD plugins included. At a street price of $499, you get one high-end console channel strip, with the ability to control your UAD and other plugins – most standard formats are supported.

    This seamless mix between the hardware and software worlds is truly state of the art. As Midnight Oil sings – “we got the best of both worlds here!”


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