Should I Buy It? – XLN Audio XO Review
Should I Buy It? – XLN Audio XO Review What’s happening, everyone! As COVID-19 (coronavirus) quarantines start to go in effect and keep you indoors, we’re here to keep you entertained. This week Yeuda takes a look at the brand-spanking-new XO from XLN Audio. XO is a drum sampler, sequencer, mixer, and sound designer in one. It’s an incredibly innovative approach to sampling and we’re super stoked to share our review with you. Watch the video below, and read our breakdown below that. Overview XO is a beautifully designed plugin, from its interface to its function it is a pure delight. Navigation has a quick learning curve to conquer, but once you do you’ll easily start using the plugin as intended. The first thing you’ll see when opening the plugin is the welcome splash which gives you a short introduction (seen below). …
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Accusonus Beat-Making: Beatformer and Regroover Pro
Accusonus Beat-Making: Beatformer and Regroover Pro Today we are going to go over two awesome plugins from Accusonus, Beatformer and Regroover Pro. Both plugins are designed to interact with your drums – Beatformer as an all-in-one drum processor and Regroover Pro as a complex sampler. Continue below as we go over the workflows with each and what makes them unique. Beatformer Beatformer is Accusonus’ all-in-one solution for your drum buss. It boasts “a dozen different processors under the hood” and allows control over them with a simple user interface and the ability to dial in a combination of tones. This can be seen as a pro or a con here, the terms are likely ones you’ve heard before but don’t accurately describe what happens when using them (except for Boom). Otherwise, Accusonus knocked it out of the park here for users by making the controls so simple yet powerful. Each knob has a finite amount of …
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DRUMS – Spitfire LABS is Back With a New Drum Library
DRUMS – Spitfire LABS is Back With a New Drum Library Spitfire Audio is back with their latest installment of their FREE to download professionally sampled audio library collection LABS (Let’s All Become Something). We covered their first two releases early last month for their Piano and Strings instruments. Both of those libraries proved to be quality options especially given the price tag of FREE. So, this time around we are provided their foray into drums – courtesy of drummer Oliver Waton and engineer Stanley Gabriel – and super happy for the option. If you are new to the Spitfire Audio LABS plugin then you may be relieved to find the user interface is minimalistic. There are only 3 controls – the 2 sliders and one large knob – Expression, Dynamics, and Reverb. Expression is described as an internal volume control in the tutorial below but they don’t expand upon the details …
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Analog Techno Drums – Character Filled Drums
Analog Techno Drums – Character Filled Drums Beatmaker recently released a VST/AU plugin filled to the brim with punchy drums. Analog Techno Drums is the name of the plugin and it comes packed with some awesome samples ready to insert into your tracks. From the Beatmaker website – Analog Techno Drums is a VST/AU Plugin for Windows and macOS, instantly providing 66 drum kits for Electro, Techno, Detroit, Minimal, Acid and Other styles that need punchy drums with character. The 1056 drum sounds are a compilation of the Drum Depot packs Analog 808, It’s Drums, It’s Drums II and Motor City by Marco Scherer. The kits come whit inspiring and ready to go patterns and are mapped in General Midi standard. The user interface is designed to look like a classic drum machine, a slick piece of hardware at that. Each drum has a sample pad that can switch between the included samples so you …
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NAMM 2018 – New Gear to Be Excited For
NAMM 2018 – New Gear to Be Excited For The NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) 2018 convention just kicked off this week and we’ve already heard some exciting announcements, we’re going to share with you some of our favorite things to look forward to: 1. Speak and Sample – Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators Teenage Engineering, the company behind the infamous OP-1 Synthesizer, is releasing some new additions to their calculator-sized Pocket Operator line up – Speak, and Sample. The Swedish company’s Pocket Operator series already includes 7 various drum, bass, and lead synths that offer incredible fun with their bleeps and bloops. The new additions include a sampler and a voice synthesizer with extremely impressive features for tech that fits in the palm of your hand (and costs under $90). Check it out here on the Teenage Engineering website with the rest of the Pocket Operator series too. 2. Boss GT-1000 Guitar …
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Getting in the Groove – 6 Tips for Programming Realistic Drums
It's a great time to be a music producer. You can produce full songs with nothing more than your laptop and a DAW. While getting good drum sounds is easier than ever with more and more options expanding beyond the limitations of old drum machines, even with good drum sounds your tracks may feel like they are missing something. That something is often the groove, with your rhythm locked in so tight to the grid that your drum programming feels programmed as opposed to feeling played in by a real human being. We've got some tips below to help you spruce up your drum programming even if you aren't a good drummer yourself.
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VHS Drums – Retro Drum Pack from AfroDJMac
AfroDJMac released a drum pack for Ableton Live this week featuring 600 samples of drums recorded to VHS tape and back into the computer. VHS tape is known to have colored audio in a unique way, often adding saturation and the occasional pitch drift. The samples were collected from vintage drum machines, synthesizers, and acoustic kits. The pack features 30 drum racks appropriately named after 80's icons and sound beautifully reminiscent of the era. The drums are also organized into folders by type (kick, snare, cymbal, etc.) and even in selector kits for quick experimentation.
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10 Ableton Live Packs Now Available for Lite Users
10 Ableton Live Packs Now Available for Intro Users For our beginners out there this is huge news. With Ableton Intro, users now have access to thousands of samples, sounds, and effects; all of which can provide inspiration for all types of music making – from searching for synths, to writing a film score, or exploring genre specific styles. These Ableton packs deliver some really high-quality material to work with and were previously only available with Standard and Suite. Below we’ll give a quick overview of each pack. Even if you’ve had access to these packs before but haven’t used them check this out. You might find some inspiration. 1. Urban Cookbook 1 by Goldbaby We love Goldbaby (their drums in particular). Their loops, samples, and racks are sounds we always consider for our tracks. With Urban Cookbook you get 3000+ kits, hits, chords, bass and more production tools …
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