Music Technology News and Trends

The modal synthesizer Reaktor Prism, the studio reverb Reflektor, the organ emulation Vintage Organs, the effect suite Traktor's 12 and the amp emulation Rammfire are based on the technology of Kontakt, Reaktor and Guitar Rig, and can be used both within the full versions and the free player versions of these instruments.

Ioan Allen, senior vice president of Dolby Laboratories, will present a 76-year chronicle of feature film stereo optical soundtrack development as a 129th AES Convention Historical Event. The two-hour event is scheduled for Thursday, November 4, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Dolby Theater, a short ride from the Moscone Center.

Production music company 615 Music in Nashville announces that it has acquired noted production music company Kingsize Music, based in New York City. Since 1996, Kingsize Music and its principals—Peter Primamore, Jay Stollman and Freddy Shehadi—have been providing high-quality, award-winning music for television and film. Randy Wachtler, 615 Music CEO and founder, made the announcement.

Dangerous Music in Edmeston, N.Y., is shipping its new stereo Dangerous BAX EQ ($2,529 MSRP). The single-rackspace unit is designed as a broad-stroke sonic sculpting tool with a unique signature for use in mastering and as a final mix bus shelving EQ.

Laura Escude talks with EM about her debut hybrid-electronic album, Pororoca, and her experiences as a classical musician and an Ableton Live trainer.

Computer, controller and groovebox in one!

While there are undoubtedly tons of methods of generating reverberation for your sounds, it can be difficult to choose which type to use for the situation you're in!
Here comes primeloops to the rescue with 5 sweet suggestions of which reverbs to rely on.

Hall
A great method of making something sit further back in the mix. The hall reverb can usually emulate a small, medium or large hall, depending on how far back in the mix you want the sound to sit. This can be a great way to counterpoint a large, upfront synth sound with some big pads, for example.

Room
A more subtle reverb, this one doesn't make a massive difference to a sound alone, but when applied to a few sounds it can start to make things sound more pro (so long as it's not overdone!). It reduces that boxiness that you often find from recording in your bedroom or by using a dry synth sound.

Plate
The sound is passed through a metal plate, with a pickup used to translate the vibrations from the sheet of metal into a useable sound. This is often used on snare drums, but can be great for sharper sounds - give it a try on some glitch hop samples for example.

Spring
Similar to the plate, except this time it passes the sound through some springs, giving a slightly different tone. If you have a guitar amp with a reverb on it, chances are it'll be a spring reverb.

Chamber
Back in the dark ages, before the internet and technology in general, reverb was made in "Reverb Chambers", where the sound would be played out of a loudspeaker and then re-recorded by a microphone after the sound had bounced back from the other end of the chamber. A convoluted method (not a convolution reverb, though!) of getting the sound, but it did the trick.

All these sounds can be emulated by digital reverbs or recreated perfectly (Thanks to impulse responses) by convolution reverbs. So next time you're looking to choose where to place your instruments, choose the right reverb for the right job - your mix will thank you for it!

You know, sometimes in-your-face electronica is a bit too much. The beats eventually result in a headache and the synths steal too much focus. Perhaps all you need is something in the background... something that's not asking for your full attention.

Welcome to Ambient.

What’s it all about?

Ambient is an offshoot of electronica that decided that music wasn't solely for dancing to. Relaxation benefits from chilled tunes and sometimes all you need to set the atmosphere is a bit of... well... ambience.

It's a genre of music that doesn't mind being ignored. It's meant to be in the background. It won't get offended if you just carry on about your routine without acknowledging its existence - all it wants is to set the scene.

When did it start?

While people had been experimenting with background music for years, conventional ambient electronica was initially popularised by Brian Eno, a ground breaking and well educated musician who was initially in the band Roxy Music, but after tiring of the ego of the lead singer (we've all been there), decided to create his own form of experimental music in the early 70s.

From this point, he and a few other innovators (Pink Floyd, Yes and Kraftwerk to name a few bigger names) pushed the boundries of beats back and concentrated on textures and slow melodies instead. As usually happens when a new genre is born, it sewed seeds in other musicians...

How did it start to get popular?

While it's never reached mainstream popularity, it has grown in renown. More artists that work with ambient more intensively or combine the floaty textures with other genres of music have popped up, including Aphex Twin and The Orb, who while never getting a number 1, still managed to appear on Top of the Pops and play a game of Chess while their single played in the background. Maybe that's where the offshoot of "Intelligent Dance Music" originated.

More recent artists such as Burial have taken Dubstep and spliced it with ambient to create more underground success stories, with hardcore fans not capable of singing enough praises for the works of their favourite Ambient producers.

Why is Ambient so awesomely atmospheric?

As the Ambient grandpappy Eno himself said; "it must be as ignorable as it is interesting." It's because you can ignore it that makes it stand out from other genres - if you're willing to listen. When you're in the mood for it, soak it in and sink into the ambience. If you aren't, simply tune it out. You can't exactly say the same for pounding 4-on-the-floor genres!

Where can I get samples?

If you're looking for methods of making your own Ambient pieces, the popular opinion generally involves manipulating samples. Grab some awesome starting points with the Ambient Fractals or Ambient Illusions sample packs from Prime Loops. Don't be afraid to grab some less obvious sample packs though - some up-tempo packs like Da sound of Bounce could be slowed, filtered, cut, spliced and mangled into a gorgeous soundscape. Therein lies the beauty of Electro-Ambient music. Playing with sound. Have fun, make some sounds and most importantly - relax!

Lucky winner announced!

Prices drop on entire Receptor range

Comprising two sample packs, Total Tribal Drum Beats offers more than 120 world-class tribal beats per pack. Each tribal beat is supplied with and without kick drum; users will find that some of these drum beats have a stripped-down version to deliver just the right tribal groove to breakdowns or step downs.

This new set of 32 KARMA-fied combis for the Korg M3 and Korg M50 is priced at $32, and includes grooves and sonic textures in a wide variety of styles.

The Octa-Capture USB 2 audio interface is a 10-input/10-output device for computer-based multichannel audio production. Octa-Capture combines 24-bit/192kHz performance and proprietary preamp and streaming technology in a compact unit.

Hip-hop sample library from Diginoiz

Read Mike Levine September 2010 EM Editors Note, Where He Writes About Maroon 5 Electronic Music Magazine

EM Tips and Techniques on Using Breakpoint Envelops to Modulate Effects Settings for Audio Production

EM Tips and Techniques on Placing Music in Film TV and Video Projects

500 Series Compressors reviewed in EM September 2010 issue

Tommy Lee talks about production of his 2010 album A Public Disservice