Image-Line are continuing to rapidly improve the already impressive FL Studio DAW, with the download available for free to registered users for testing. It’s a beta, so whilst there are numerous new features added, it may not be quite a stable as the production version which will follow. I remember buying Fruity Loops back when it was shareware software over a decade ago…

Notable changes in FL Studio 10.5 (Beta) include:

• Performance Mode - Trigger Clips using your mouse, touch screen, typing keyboard or MIDI controller.
• New controllers supported - APC20/40, Launchpad, Block, MASCHINE / MASCHINE MIKRO, padKONTROL
• Unique controller MIDI input port - Controllers can now be assigned unique input & output ports for feedback.
• Linking includes MIDI input port - Links now use MIDI input ports to avoid conflict between controllers
• New Content Library – The content library has received a complete overhaul based on user input.
• Options > Project general settings > Play truncated notes in clips – Restores notes overlapping slice points in Pattern Clips.
• Horizontal/Vertical movement locking – Shift (horizontal lock) & Ctrl (vertical lock) when moving items.
• Piano roll click & hold functions – Glue notes, Mouse wheel velocity change, Mouse wheel tool select.
• Piano roll - Brush tool: Monophonic step mode (hold shift for old behavior). Chop chords: Strum & Articulate tools.
• Improved Tap Tempo & Fine control - Updated algorithm + nudge control for Performance Mode.
• Instrument Channels - Ctrl+mouse wheel on Channel button to change the mixer track.
• Stay open sub-menus – Right click to check several menu items without closing them.
• Plugin Picker - Start typing plugin names to highlight entries.
• Right-click data enter – Most controls now allow a Right-click option to type in values.

Originally publisher as Image-Line Release FL Studio 10.5 (Beta) © 1999 - 2011 AudioMelody - AudioMelody - free music software, apps & recording / mixing tutorials

Here at AudioMelody we prided ourselves of being one of the first websites to offer computer musicians free PC software for recording, mixing, and editing their music back in 1999. Whilst we still offer an unrivalled collection of free music software for laptop musicians on Macs and PCs – we have now opened a dedicated section of the site for those most mobile of tools: music apps.

We have started with only listing a few of our favourite music apps for iPhone and iPad – from Apple’s GarageBand to Propellerhead’s Figure, but the collection will be expanding rapidly over the coming weeks. The vast majority of these apps are for iOS at the moment, simply due to their availability and how Apple have successfully dealt with the latency issues so prevalent in Android and Windows Phone at the moment. As Google and Microsoft improve the performance of their mobile operating systems, however, the AudioMelody Music App Store is designed to be platform agnostic. So, whatever the platform, if the app is good for making, recording, or mixing music then it will be included.

Originally publisher as Music App Store For iOS (iPhone & iPad), Android, And Windows Phone (WP7) Launched © 1999 - 2011 AudioMelody - AudioMelody - free music software, apps & recording / mixing tutorials

Ableton has long been making the defacto software solution for electronic musicians to play live, as well as for making beats and grooves – and now they have partnered with SoundCloud, the music hosting and streaming solution used by musicians and music blogs across the globe.

The integration is as deep as allowing Ableton allowing users to upload directly to SoundCloud from within the software, and SoundCloud offering Ableton users 5 months of a Pro account for free. Ableton is also offering the SoundCloud community a free version of Ableton Live Lite 8 – a very useful tool to get started. To grab this free download, you’ll need to sign up for SoundCloud and join their email newsletter within the next couple of weeks.

This is two fantastic Berlin-based audio companies coming together to make their products better for musicians.

Originally publisher as SoundCloud + Ableton = Awesome © 1999 - 2011 AudioMelody - AudioMelody - free music software, apps & recording / mixing tutorials

Propellerheads, the Swedish music software company that is behind Reason, ReCycle, and ReBirth, are launching an iOS app named Figure for just $1 which is designed to make music production on the go a real possibility. Musicians will now be able to be sitting at the back of a bus or on a train and have the power of the Reason music engine to play with.

This isn’t just going to be Reason ported to multi-touch devices, but the interface rebuilt to focus on quick access to tonality, rhythm, and pattern, all on top of the Reason and its instruments that thousands have learned to love on their laptops. Propellerheads are saying this will sound exactly as good as Reason on the desktop, making it one hell of a bargain for just a dollar (or £0.79 here in the UK).

Alongside this new release, the company have announced the addition of “Rack Extensions”, which will allow developers to add their own instruments to the Reason Rack for the first time. This is a huge play by Propellerheads as they are aiming of becoming the musical operating system on iOS devices, within which all other music software can run as a rack extension – basically an app store within Reason. Just like an app store, they will be splitting the revenues from each extension with the developers, who will get 70% of the sale. Third parties already announced include Korg, Sugar Bytes, Peff, Softube, GForce, SonicCharge and users will be able to try out each rack extension for 30 days for free.

Propellerheads submitted the app to Apple for review last week, so it should be available shortly at the App Store. This could be huge.

Originally publisher as Propellerheads To Offer iPad Figure Music Studio For $1 © 1999 - 2011 AudioMelody - AudioMelody - free music software, apps & recording / mixing tutorials

Clock Opera, the London-based band making waves with their “chop pop” style of music production and with a debut album Ways To Forget coming on April 23rd on Moshi Moshi are taking user generated content to a new level with Clock Operation.

Fans and producers are welcomed to submit any sample they like to the music making process from an obscure noise, to birdsong, to a synth bass-line, to the clang of pans, to a few vocal melody – the band will be sifting through the submissions to make a brand new tune. Just be sure to get your sound in before 23rd March so the band will have a chance to play with it.

This collaborative effort is being done with the help of music streaming startup SoundCloud and the final piece of music will premiere on DIY on March 26th

Originally publisher as Clock Opera To Make Song Exclusively From Samples From Fans © 1999 - 2011 AudioMelody - AudioMelody - free music software, apps & recording / mixing tutorials

Music bloggers have tried to follow the example of John Peel in championing new music and artists that do not have the multi-million pound marketing machine behind them. They try to open the public’s ears to the beauty that sits outside the Top 40 Charts, and they gain notoriety from finding these bands and artists and giving them their first audience.

With the growth of influence of these bloggers, the question has now become “how do I get featured on your blog?” With our sister site, The Blue Walrus, sitting pretty as one of the top music sites on Technorati, I thought now might be a good time to go over the basics that will give bands the best chance of being heard through the noise of a music blogger’s inbox. Bloggers receive hundreds of emails per week containing new music from record labels, PR folk, band management, and band members themselves – making it more important than ever to try and stand out from the crowd, and following these rules should give you a little help:

Choose The Right Blogs

Don’t just send your email out to very blog under the sun. If you send music to blogs that quite obviously don’t cover your genre then you r are actively burning bridges – no-one like to feel spammed. The idea with sending music to bloggers is not to carpet bomb everyone, but to pick a select few, personalise the message to them and then follow it up. It may also help to target blogs in your hometown or at least home-country – this way you can invite them to shows and possibly get extra coverage of your live show as well as your recordings.
Finding blogs that cover the sort of music you write is as simple as going on the Hype Machine and searching for a similar band and finding the blogs that wrote about them, or do the same using Google’s Blog Search. Once you’ve found a few blogs that might cover your music, then go through their blogroll looking for similar blogs as well.

Cultivate A Relationship With The Bloggers You Choose

Everyone is more likely to write about people that they know, and if you manage to strike up a relationship with the bloggers you send your music too then this can help them read your emails first. If a blogger writes a great piece about one of your favourite bands, then comment on the post or tweet them saying so, or if you’re going to be at the same live show then say hello. This way you sending them your music at a later date will not be “cold calling”, they’ll know who you are and will be more likely to actually read your email and press play. They might even click through your profile and listen to your music for their own curiosity. I’m not saying suck up to the bloggers or give them undeserved praise – simply that most likely the bloggers you submit your music to may well have a similar taste in music to you, and so don’t be afraid of striking up a discussion with them about that.

Keep The Email Short And To The Point

Don’t bother with the niceties of “I’m sure you’re really busy but…”, or “I know you get loads of these but…”, just get to the point – “Hi, we’re a new band called X from Town Y, and we think we have a sort of Z sound with influences ranging from A to B – here’s the links to our Facebook/Twitter/Bandcamp/SoundCloud” and then add your bio beneath that. That first sentence is all a number of bloggers will read as they wade through the flood of submissions – so make it count. Only if they’ve read that and thought it is interesting will they press play on the music and/or get round to reading the bio.

Make Your Music Quick And Easy To Play

SoundCloud provides a great option for bands and musicians to link to their music and make it playable within just a couple of clicks and is the preferred method of receiving music by most bloggers. A basic account is free so there really is little excuse not to offer your music this way. Bandcamp is great as well, and well worth having for those who prefer this method, and also for the ability to sell single/EP/album downloads outside of the iTunes/Amazon ecosystems too. If you are sending an EP or album, then link to what you think are your best two or three songs, and then give a link to download the record as a zip file of mp3s. You can host this zip on Dropbox again for free and downloading takes a single click – the easier you make all this, the better. Never attach mp3s to emails – they will be ignored. Whatever you do don’t lock your music up on Facebook and expect music bloggers to “like” your page to enable the stream or download – they won’t. Ever.

Label Your Music Properly

I can’t remember the number of times where I’ve been sent an album by a band that they have forgotten to add ID3 tags to – and this makes it damn hard to work out which band that was a week later when I’d finally had a chance to listen to the whole record. Make sure the tags on your MP3s work properly, add the album/single art and it is often a good idea to add the URL of your band’s website or Facebook page in the comment section to make yourselves even easier to find. Tools like MP3tag do a very good job here.
If you are using SoundCloud to offer streams of your music (as your should) then use the format “Artist – Song Title” to title your songs. Like the ID3 tags, this makes it easier for people to find, and also helps with the music being picked up properly by the aggregators such as the Hype Machine, Elbo.ws, Shuffler.fm, and Ex.fm.

The Music

This should, obviously, be the most important part. Time is of short supply in the music blogging world, and your song will need to capture someone’s attention within the first 20 seconds. If you have this slow moody build up for three minutes, then no-one will likely actually get to the real start of the track. Yes I know this is utterly superficial, as plenty of great songs take a little bit of time to warm up, but maybe leave those tracks for after you’ve got a little audience ready and wanting more.

Focus On Originality

This should be self-evident, but remixes are a dime a dozen and unless I know and like the remix artist’s previous work, emails just pushing remixes or a cover version go straight in the bin – and I’m not alone in taking this route. Focus on your own material, and if your proud of some of your remixes or covers then play them at live shows or put them up on your SoundCloud or BandCamp, but don’t bother sending them to bloggers.

Add Links

It sounds obvious, and I mentioned it above, but make sure you add links to your band’s Facebook, SoundCloud, and Bandcamp pages – every band should have these. Then if you are on Twitter, Tumblr, Youtube, Vimeo, or have a full website then add them too. If you have a record for sale, add a link to buy the record on iTunes, Amazon, or BandCamp as well alongside the release date.

Add A Decent Picture

Attach a decent picture of the band and/or link to where the blogger can find a few decent photographs that are available for use with their write-up. Decent quality photos as well are a bonus, as some sites tend to publish larger images with each write-up, and good quality photographs can always be edited down.

Add Contact Details

Yes bloggers can reply to the email address you’re sending the message from but for some questions – including booking bands for live showcases – a phone number can be very useful.

Make Sure You BCC

We all know that you are sending your music to quite a few bloggers (not to many though as I said before), but make sure that you BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) everyone when your are sending out mass(ish) emails. If you just CC everyone in then it just ends up as a load of unwanted messages for everyone.

For some other perspectives on this you can’t go wrong with taking a look at what Breaking More Waves and Disco Demons have said on the subject.

Originally publisher as How To Get Music Bloggers To Listen © 1999 - 2011 AudioMelody - AudioMelody - free music software, apps & recording / mixing tutorials

At this point, tablets (almost entirely iPads) are seen as tools to work with alongside a DAW as a touchscreen interface, or for laying down some simple song structures when on the move. But with the launch of Wave Machine Labs’ Auria, we’ve got a full 48-track DAW right there with full support for VST plugin effects.

With the right audio interface, Auria claims to offer up to 24-track simultaneous recording, and AAF support so that users can export the session to their full DAW – although with all this on offer within the iPad you might see people starting to use Apple’s tablet as just that.

Auria may not be able to record MIDI, VST instruments are not supported, and the VST effects will need to be wrapped in an iOS wrapper and bought as in-app purchases – but as a sign of things to come – this is an impressively big step. Wave Machine Labs is also trying to develop the VST standard across the iOS platform which would be useful for all mobile music makers, with PSP involved from the start.

All this for just $50 (£30) looks damn impressive!

Originally publisher as NAMM 2012: Wave Machine Labs’ Auria DAW For iPad © 1999 - 2011 AudioMelody - AudioMelody - free music software, apps & recording / mixing tutorials

As well as announcing the Renaissance and Studio MPC products, Akai has announced the interesting looking MPC FLY. It is essential a 16-pad controller that sits in a laptop-esque case that can also house an iPad 2, and then an iOS app lets you sequence up to four tracks simultaneously.

Here’s a breakdown of the features for each part:

MPC FLY Hardware

• The first MPC designed specifically for iPad 2
• Fitted compartment for iPad 2 provides fully integrated portable MPC solution
• 16 backlit genuine MPC pads with MPC Note Repeat & MPC Swing
• Works seamlessly with the MPC App: sequence & sample editing, effects, EQ and more
• Create beats on the go and transfer to a Mac or PC for further mastering
• Double-hinged case sits upright, lies flat or closes for transport
• Compatible with virtually any Core MIDI app
• Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
• Charges iPad when plugged into wall power

MPC FLY iPad App (Developed by Retronyms)

• Sequence four tracks simultaneously: four-track mixer built in
• Built in sound library of samples and drum kits
• Record and overdub sequences and create and edit your own Programs
• 16-Levels mode: play one sample at 16 levels of attack, velocity, length, and tuning
• Note variation slider allows you to manipulate attack, velocity, length, and tuning as you play
• Built-in effects: delay, bit crusher, master compressor/limiter
• Time correct: 1/8 note – 1/32T with variable Swing setting
• Note Repeat: 1/8 note – 1/32T timing
• Sample using internal mic or line-in and trim and categorize samples
• Sample from your iPod library with turntable interface
• Share on SoundCloud, Facebook or twitter
• Supports WIST, Wireless Sync Start protocol from Korg
• Supports AudioPaste

Originally publisher as NAMM 2012: Akai MPC FLY For iPad 2 © 1999 - 2011 AudioMelody - AudioMelody - free music software, apps & recording / mixing tutorials

Japanese audio electronics powerhouse Zoom have announced the G5 effects and amps simulator at Namm this year, offering 120 effects and 20 amp models all in one small package. It will let users use up to nine effects simultaneously with four large LCD screens displaying the amp and stompbox interface.

Other features include:

• Real tube booster for amp overdrive
• 3D Z-pedal for multi-dimensional parameter control
• Over 120 versatile effects including 20 amp models
• Looper function with 60-second phrase recording/overdubbing
• Integrated drum machine and auto-chromatic tuner
• Balanced XLR output for DI use
• USB audio interface for DAW recording
• Edit&Share software available through free download
• Includes Steinberg Cubase LE recording software

We’ve got no word yet on pricing or official launch date, but watch this space for updates!

Originally publisher as NAMM 2012: Zoom G5 Effects/Amps Simulator © 1999 - 2011 AudioMelody - AudioMelody - free music software, apps & recording / mixing tutorials

The iRig Mix can work between two iDevices, or alongside a single iDevice with audio provided from other sources such as CD or MP3 players – with the iDevice then running the DJ Rig app to tempo match and beat sync. It’s portable size and versatility makes it a great accompaniment to any digital DJ setup, and the ability to use non-Apple audio sources means that a single iPad is sufficient for most party DJ needs.

Beyond its uses for DJing, the iRig Mix also offers a guitar/microphone input that makes it easy to process the audio with other real-time effects apps, and the standard RCA output connectors provide direct connection to PA systems or powered speakers.

CQ8TNNMMX4UM

Originally publisher as NAMM 2012: IK Multimedia iRig Mix © 1999 - 2011 AudioMelody - AudioMelody - free music software, apps & recording / mixing tutorials