ABLETON 11 Devices – Inspired by Nature, Interview with creator Dillon Bastan
Ableton 11 Devices – ‘Inspired by Nature’ Interview with creator Dillon Bastan Ableton 11 has a lot of great new features coming out in 2021. We had the pleasure of speaking with device designer Dillon Bastan about his 6 new devices for Ableton Live 11 – “Inspired By Nature”. You can see Dillon’s demo for each device at the bottom of the page. What is your background, are you a physicist? What got you interested in making sounds based on natural phenomena? I’m not a physicist at all and am coming from a music background/self-taught programming, my academic math level is low. For some of the devices I make I try to get to a game-like/playful approach to sound generation/design. A couple of years ago I began to learn more about coding simulations of natural phenomena, particularly simple particle systems in the case of these devices, so it was …
Read MoreFeelYourSound ChordPotion 2 – Generate Fresh MIDI Ideas!
ChordPotion 2 – Generate Fresh MIDI Ideas! Feel Your Sound is back with a new chord composition tool called ChordPotion 2. In case you haven’t seen our last article on them, check it out for some more background! ChordPotion is a MIDI plug-in that transforms incoming chord notes into entirely new phrases, rhythmic chords, and melodies using its algorithmic AI. It’s mighty powerful, and handy as heck. Breakdown ChordPotion2 is a compositional idea-box in the form of a flexible plugin. The lovely thing about ChordPotion 2 is that its interface is streamlined, and it doesn’t try to do too much. Aside from the main portion of the GUI (pictured above), there are only two other sections for editing the MIDI generation parameters. Overall it’s a great device. It allows up to 128 steps in the sequencer, and each of those steps can have customized effect …
Read MoreShould I Buy it? – Future Audio Workshops SubLab
Should I Buy it? – Future Audio Workshops SubLab Welcome back everyone to our latest edition of Should I Buy It! It’s been a wild few months of spring as we’re sure most of you can relate. We’ve gotten a bit more settled now that summer is here, we’ve reopened the school and our diving into our review schedule. First up is FAW’s killer plugin SubLab. Read below for our score and breakdown. Breakdown Future Audio Workshpos touts SubLab as the one-stop plugin for all your bass needs. Use it to design subbass sounds for Hip-hop, Future bass and Trap genres. We put it to the test. Interface / Layout SubLab sports a minimal look, opting for the flat design style that’s been a favorite of modern plugins. The dark theme, and the separation of the plugin’s modules, helps avoid the normal pitfall of flat …
Read MoreWaves Audio Mod Multirack – Modulate Your Waves Distortion FX
Waves Audio Mod Multirack – Modulate Your Waves Distortion FX “MultiMod Rack is the next level in distortion processing and effects. It’s a 3-slot rack that accepts all of Waves’ newest distortion plugins – Abbey Road Saturator, Berzerk, and MDMX Fuzz, Overdrive & Screamer” Waves just released the follow-up plugin to their recent slew of distortion plugins – Mod Multirack. This plugin acts as a multi-effects chain that you can configure three slots and modulate. You even have multiband control over that modulation! It’s a fun plugin that we had the pleasure of checking out so read the overview below! Overview The Mod Multirack allows users to chain up to three effects from their recent distortion plugins. Those recent plugins include Abbey Road Saturator, Berzerk Distortion, and the MDMX Distortion Trio. In addition to those plugins, Mod Multirack also includes four effect modules – Autopan, Chorus, Delay, and Reverb. Open up the plugin …
Read MoreShould 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). …
Read MoreShould I Buy It? – Sugarbytes Looperator Review
Should I Buy It? – Sugarbytes Looperator Review In this week’s edition of Should I Buy It? Yeuda takes a look at Sugarbytes’ Looperator plugin. It’s an older “effects sequencer” plugin but has always been a classic so we wanted to dive in and give you our opinion. Watch the video review below, and read the score breakdown below that. Overview As we mentioned above, Looperator is an “effects sequencer” plugin. That means that it will trigger internal effects based on notes in a sequencer. It’s a simple concept that always yields interesting results for productions. We’ve covered glitch machines before so we were excited to get back onto the topic. Effects sequencers are awesome. They’ll make a boring loop into something unique with the click of a button, it almost feels like cheating! Regardless of work ethics, we were proud to review Looperator. Looperator …
Read MoreShould I Buy It? – D16 Audio Effects Review
Should I Buy It? – D16 Audio Effects Review This week Yeuda reviews the effects plugins made by an amazing company, D16 Group Audio. In the video, he goes over eight different effects which we then breakdown below. D16 makes some really great stuff that comes at a great price point, there are a few favorites that stuck out but all in all, we love what we saw. Watch below, then read our score breakdowns below that. Breakdowns Decimort 2 is the updated version of the original Decimort, a bit crusher with major attitude. D16’s plugins all share a similar aesthetic which is really nice. We’ve said it before and will maintain that we like that move. It makes using multiple plugins from the same company easier. Decimort 2 has quite a bit of flexibility without adding on any dead weight. There’s an input filter, a …
Read MoreShould I Buy It? – VPS Avenger Review
Should I Buy It? – VPS Avenger Review This week Yeuda covers the VPS Avenger, also known as the Vengeance Producer Suite Avenger. This plugin is by and large he most comprehensive production tool ever created. Of the products we’ve covered, it’s the first to receive a full 10 out of 10 rating. It’s a synthesizer, it’s a production suite, it’s everything you’ve ever wanted. Watch the video below to hear Yeuda’s stance on it, and read below that for a quick tutorial. Overview VPS Avenger is built in a similar fashion to some of the previous synthesizers we’ve covered. It is built around a series of modules that control the sound generation, filtering, effects, modulation, and any extra features. We’ve seen this style more and more as the newest generation of plugins emerges that attempt to do it all. We can confidently say that Avenger does …
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