Waveformless

Free Sample Friday: Detergent Drums (and a Contest... Sort of...)

2013-05-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

So, I thought I'd try something a little different for today's Free Sample Friday. Today's selection of samples consist of 12 different samples of detergent containers being struck with a drum stick. They don't make bad percussion sounds on their own, but I want to see how creative you all can get.

Let's use these samples as the starting point for new sounds... pitch shift them, layer them, filter them, effect them, distort them, stretch them - just twist them into something new an unrecognizable. It could be more percussive type sounds, ambient soundscapes, or even a synth sound. Now, there is no prize other than the mutual admiration of your peers, but I thought I could then share the resulting samples with everyone for next Friday. So we get to mess around with sample mangling AND (hopefully) get a whole new mess of sounds out of it!

1.) The sounds you submit cannot contain source material from another sample library. It's fine if you want to make your own samples and layer them, but the material you submit must be free of copyright. Likewise, you allow Waveformless to distribute the samples you submit to the public for free without any compensation due to you.

2.) Please give each sample a different, unique name to help distinguish eveyrone's samples from one another.

3.) Sounds must be in 24-bit/44.1k WAV format and be fully edited (no dead space at the beginning, etc.)

4.) Try to keep the sample sizes reasonable.

5. When you've got stuff you want to submit, you may send it to me directly. Make sure the subject header reads something like Waveformless Contest or something similar.

I think this should be a fun experiment. Hope we get lots of submissions! Now, without further delay, here are the samples:

GO GET THEM!

Oberheim SEM Reissue on eBay

2013-05-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

Sometime Waveformless contributor Adam is selling his spiffy new Oberheim SEM reissue. Mention you're a Waveformless reader and he'll ship it for free!

Info at the listing...

Giorgio Moroder Scores Google Racing Game

2013-05-16T02:19:00.004-07:00

Wow, this wasn't even on my radar! Google is releasing a game for Chrome called Racer and none other than electro-disco legend Giorgio Moroder was asked to compose the theme. This is the first solo music Moroder has release in ages!

[via Synthtopia]

Moog Rogue on eBay

2013-05-16T02:07:00.001-07:00

Info at the listing...

A "Real World" TR-808?

2013-05-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

MR-808 - mechanic drum robot from Sonic Robots on Vimeo.

"Let's get physical: MR-808 is the first drum robot that reproduces the drum sounds of the 80s - in the real world.
The robot installation MR-808 is a replica of the famous 1980s electronic drum machine TR-808 – with robots playing the drum sounds! I (Moritz Simon Geist) have been playing electronic music for several years now, and at some place I was bored of the electronic music production process. With binary logic, everything is possible.
So I decided to go back to the roots of sound generation – the physical sound generation – but combine it with the electronic music structure we like so much.
I liked the idea so much, that I couldn’t stop building my own drum robots, and ended up replacing all the electronic sounds of a whole drum computer, placed in a 3,3 x 1,7m² case. I am very proud to present the “MR-808” – a mechanic replica of the famous 1980s electronic drum machine TR-808!
Read on: sonicrobots.com/mr808-eng/"

[via Moogfest]

Astronaut Chris Hadfield Has a Soundcloud

2013-05-15T02:09:00.003-07:00

Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield, who recently returned to Earth from the International Space Station, has captivated quite a few of us earthbound types with his YouTube videos demonstrating the strange behavior of ordinary things in space, as well as a pretty kick-ass version of Bowie's "Space Oddity" recorded IN SPACE.

Little did I know until this evening, however, that he also has a Soundcloud account with lots of cool ambient recordings of sounds aboard the ISS.

CHECK IT OUT!

Download a Free Track from the Upcoming Skinny Puppy Album

2013-05-15T01:22:00.000-07:00

Industrial legends Skinny Puppy are getting ready to release their newest album, "Weapon" on May 28th on Metropolis Records. To help promote the album, they've released a free MP3 via Rolling Stone Magazine of the track "salVo".

GO GET IT!

A Look at the House Scene in Johannesburg, South Africa

2013-05-15T01:06:00.003-07:00

I'm always fascinated to learn about scenes in countries that normally don't get a lot of attention musically.

[via Resident Advisor on Facebook]

Multivox MX-450 Foot Pedal Monosynth

2013-05-15T01:00:00.001-07:00

Multivox's take on the famous Moog Taurus.

Info at the listing...

Free Skins for Ableton Live

2013-05-13T01:33:00.002-07:00

If you've a bit tired of the rather bland default appearance of Ableton Live, Madeline over at Sonic Boom has released six new ones for free. While designed specifically for the newly-released version 9, they purportedly work in earlier versions as well.

GO GET THEM!

[via wiretotheear]

Space Oddity - in Space

2013-05-13T01:14:00.000-07:00

Chris Hadfield has been the Commander on the International Space Station, and has captivated YouTube viewers with his fascinating videos that demonstrate how even the most seemingly mundane tasks take on odd, new twists in the zero-g environment.

Unfortunately for us, (but fortunately for his family), Commander Hadfield is going home, so as a send-off, he's recorded a nice version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" with the Space Station and the spectacular views it affords as a backdrop.

So keep in mind, no matter how bad-ass you think you are, you've never recorded a song and music video in frigging SPACE like Commander Chris Hadfield.

Reveal Sound Releases Spire Softsynth

2013-05-13T01:06:00.001-07:00

It's always exciting to hear from a new synth developer. Reveal Sound started in 2009 and have now unleashed their first product, a software synth for Mac and Windows called Spire, which they describe as a "polyphonic synthesizer that combines powerful sound engine modulation and flexible architecture (with) a graphic interface (that) provides unparalleled usability."

Spire retails for €69.

Moog Sonic 6 on eBay

2013-05-13T00:53:00.004-07:00

Info at the listing...

Access Virus TI Polar

2013-05-13T00:51:00.001-07:00

Info at the listing...

Free Sample Friday: Jupiter 8V Poly

2013-05-10T01:57:00.001-07:00

Today's free multi-sampled instrument is a patch I programmed in Arturia Jupiter-8V. It's a nicely chorused poly-synth sound reminiscent of the Oberheim synth sounds Prince was fond of in the early 80's. 8 samples as 24-bit WAV files, weighing in just under 14 MB. Enjoy!

GO GET THEM!

Oberheim Matrix 6 on eBay

2013-05-10T01:52:00.001-07:00

Info at the listing...

Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 on eBay

2013-05-10T01:50:00.001-07:00

Info at the listing...

Post Modern Brilliance

2013-05-09T03:31:00.002-07:00

Who would've imagined a world where someone would make a catchy pop tune out of news clips within days of the news airing? I can't stop watching this...

Review: PSP SpringBox

2013-05-09T00:34:00.001-07:00

Product: SpringBox spring reverb emulator
Developer: PSP Audioware
Formats: Windows (VST, AAX, and RTAS), Mac (VST, AAX, RTAS, AU) - both 64-bit compatible
Price: $69
Demo: available on the product page

PSP Audioware has long had a reputation for excellent, vintage-sounding plug-ins, and so far they show no sign of slowing down. Today we're going to take a look at their latest release, a spring reverb plug-in called PSP SpringBox.

WHAT IS IT?
Back in the days before digital reverbs and high-end plug-ins, reverberation was still an important part of production, it was just produced in a more primitive way. Back in those days, reverb was generally produced by amplifying an object that is vibrating from the music signal sent to it. One method used a large, flat metal plate as the resonating body. These were known as plate reverbs, and you undoubtedly have run into plate reverb presets on your favorite reverb plug in. The sound of plate reverbs is generally quite smooth, and it became a favorite to use on vocals and percussion in particular. The other main reverb of this type was the spring reverb. In this case, instead of an amplified plate, a reverberating spring is used. This results in a very distinctive "sproingy" reverb that has metallic and liquid qualities at the same time. Spring reverbs were very popular in early electronic music as well as the Jamaican dub and Surf Rock movements. Later on bands like Joy Division and Portishead would make spring reverbs an identifiable part of their sound.

PSP SpringBox, then, is an emulation of a spring reverb in plug-in form with a variety of features to aid you in sculpting the tone and timbre of the reverb.

INSTALLATION
Installation of PSP SpringBox is a two part process. First, you run the plug-in installer, and once you've done that, you run the separate authorizer and you're good to go. Helpfully, PSP also include de-installers.

DOCUMENTATION
Currently, there doesn't appear to be documentation for PSP SpringBox, but it's not an overly-complex plug-in, so it shouldn't be difficult for all but the noobiest of noobs to figure out. I expect documentation is in process. [CORRECTION: Documentation is indeed included, it just wasn't where I expected it to be. Full documentation is obtainable by pressing the '?' button on the interface. I apologize for this oversight.]

INTERFACE
PSP SpringBox has a nicely-rendered interface that replicates the look of a two-rack unit with a brushed aluminum faceplate, and nice, shiny, black knobs (pause as all the people in Britain giggle).

Each instance of PSP SpringBox is actually made up of two different settings, an "A" and a "B" setting. Only one may be active at a time, but it allows you to automate or switch between settings quickly in a live performance (for instance, if you wanted to switch between a short and long setting for accents in the mix). Each of these features controls for the High Pass Filter. Presence, Damping, Time, and level Trim. All of these settings do pretty much what you would expect from the name and give you a variety of options for shaping the tone of the reverb.

To the right of these two settings, is a selector that allows you to use different amounts of virtual springs to create the reverb. You can choose between two, three, four, and six spring configurations. Low values tend to be sparser, more metallic, and "sproingier", while higher values sound more liquid and diffuse.

Below this, you'll find a bypass switch that allows you to turn the effect on and off - again, quite helpful for automation and live performance.

On the rightmost portion of the interface, you'll find global Wet and Dry levels, Diffusion (allowing rough sounding reverbs all the way to smoother ones), Spread (which allows widening of the stereo image), and Pan/Balance (which places the reverb to a specific place in the stereo image).

CPU USAGE
As you would expect from a high quality plug-in, CPU usage isn't negligible, but nor is it horrific. Two quality modes (Low CPU and Brilliant) are available if CPU use becomes a concern. On my 2.66 Quadcore MacPro, Low CPU mode ate up about an 1/8th of my processor load. In Brilliant Mode, that went up to about a quarter. Since this is the type of effect that is shared among many tracks via sends, this shouldn't cause problems for most people.

SO HOW DOES IT SOUND?
If you've used PSP's plug-ins before, it probably won't surprise you to know this sounds fantastic. The various tone-scupting parameters are helpful in providing a surprisingly wide range of sounds. Super lo-fi retro effects sound authentic and vintage, higher diffusion and spring count settings can provide smoother sounds that still ooze character, and even decent room and ambience sounds can be dialed in without much trouble.

THE VERDICT
A spring reverb is one of those things that I think everyone should have in their sonic toolbox. Even if it's not the most cutting edge, surround-sound, convolution reverb, spring reverbs just offer so much character and near-instant retro credibility to a sound. It's not right for everything, but man, when it's right, it's really right. Whether you're looking to dub out your drum kit, add some splashy surfrock shimmer to your guitar solo, or give your vocal track an authentic vintage vibe, you can dial it in to PSP SpringBox. At $69. I think PSP SpringBox is well worth checking out if you're looking to add a spring reverb to your arsenal. I can't wait to see what PSP does next! [10/10]

Handmade Blue Lantern Modular on eBay

2013-05-09T00:00:00.002-07:00

Info at the listing...

Moog MemoryMoog Plus on eBay

2013-05-09T00:00:00.001-07:00

Info at the listing...

MPC Modular Drum Synth on eBay

2013-05-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

Info at the listing...

Sequential Prophet-VS on eBay

2013-05-08T23:34:00.001-07:00

Info at the listing...

10 Rules of a Zen Programmer

2013-05-08T00:33:00.003-07:00

A friend of mine who is a software developer shared this article with me recently. While it's about software coding, I think it applies to just about any creative endeavor, including writing music. I'm definitely going to attempt to apply some of these principals to my workflow and see if I can't improve my productivity a bit.

[via Grobmeier.de & Music of Sound]

Roland JD-800 on eBay

2013-05-08T00:14:00.000-07:00

Info at the listing...