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February 2024 / CM330 BEATS

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AWARDS
ISSUE
2023
The year’s best releases
rounded up – and how
they reveal the shape
of things to come…

SILK MINIMAL AUDIO

The sensational Quiver star on How Current redefines what a
his TikTok-assisted rise software synth can do
 welcome / computer music <

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This icon means there are extra files to help you follow
FILES a tutorial feature: project files, audio examples, etc It’s often said that the best way to figure out where we’re
going is to look back at where we’ve been. Across 2023
There’s extra video content wherever you see
this icon we strove to cover as many of the thousands of new
releases across software music production as possible.
While some of our highlights stuck to more traditional
concepts, or emulated historical legends, others wrote
new rules and re-stimulated the way we thought about
making sounds, developing creative ideas and more.
This issue we’re making the time to both evaluate the
year’s key developments across the major product
categories and pay particular homage to the releases
that we think made the biggest impact – and might just
signpost the future of music production.
Unlike typical features of this kind, we’ve decided to
Subscribe to not hand out our ‘Winner’ prizes to just one singular
Computer Music! product, but instead afford accolades to around six or
See p80 seven excellent new additions to our hard drives. When it
comes down to it, music-making shouldn’t be about
winners and losers. There’s little that can do everything,
Where to get and its often combinations of instruments, effects and
PRINT ZINIO mixing tools that can yield the most rewarding results.
in stores and online
magazinesdirect.com
for PC, Mac, Android, iPad & more
zinio.com
That being said, we’re not shy about heaping praise
upon some of the very deserving spotlight
iOS APP STORE GOOGLE PLAY
for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch for Android & Chrome for PC/Mac products. Head to page 14 to begin.
computermusic.co.uk/cmdigital play.google.com
Also this issue, we take a plunge into
Linux, and explore why it could be a
perfect alternative to the
WWW
musicradar.com/computermusic

computermusic@futurenet.com more mainstream music-making

facebook.com/computer.music.mag ecosystems in 2024. We speak
twitter.com/computermusicuk
to the sublime SILK, who shares his
experience of social media audience-
youtube.com/computermusicmag
building, and the mental health
instagram.com/computermusicmag impacts of creating content vs making
art. Don’t forget to grab your copy of
Beatskillz Chorust and this
SCAN TO GET month’s free samples. Enjoy!
OUR WEEKLY
NEWSLETTER Andy Price Editor
andy.price@futurenet.com
ISSUE 330 FEBRUARY 2024

contents
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44 68
AWARDS guides
/expert Reviews

ISSUE
68 SONIC CHARGE
SYNPLANT 2
40 SYNTH
70 SOUNDIRON
MASTERCLASS
Dave Gale beckons us
QUADRAL 3

2023
towards gated synth glory 72 BABY AUDIO
44 DANCE MUSIC TRANSIT
MASTERCLASS 74 AUSTRIAN AUDIO
Roll out the red Sara Simms whips up a killer MICREATOR
drop for your house track STUDIO
carpets! Our winning
48 MIX 76 SOLID STATE
products of 2023 are MASTERCLASS LOGIC G3
revealed on p14 Jon Musgrave climbs
aboard the mix bus express
MULTIBUS COMP
78 SOUNDWARE

/ interview
32 SILK
The UK producer spins a
Features tale around his euphoric
smash hit Quiver
52 LINUX IN THE STUDIO
Tempted by this alternative OS’s
music-making potential, but don’t Listen up
know where to start? We offer up a 94 MAGNETIC SKIES
comprehensive guide The ’80s-channeling
quartet tell all 74

Essentials
6 NEWS
10 INTERFACE
80 SUBSCRIBE
97 BACK ISSUES
32 94 98 NEXT MONTH 76
4 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
 downloads / contents <

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How to use this month’s exclusive free
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ULTIMATE BIG KICKS & COMPLEX BEATS
VOCALS Highlights of this month’s free selection
include Big Kicks + Sub Bass, Complex Beats,
90 plus the usual Loopmasters demo packs

free videos
MASTERCLASSES
Follow along with our in-house experts as
they guide you through their top tips for
96 mixing, dance music-making and synthesis

plugin suite
YOUR SUITE IN DETAIL
More than 80 plugins for free. All you need
to get started in music production! Learn
DOWNLOAD more about the suite in the PDF
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 5
> news
NEW RELEASES • COMMENT • INDUSTRY HAPPENINGS
Flying solo
The newest in its growing stable of properly vintage synth
emulations, Cherry Audio reveals Pro Soloist…
Cherry Audio is riding high after a year of
solid classic synth-resurrecting releases: its
latest release, Pro Soloist, continues to re-love
those oft-forgotten early innovators. The ARP
Pro Soloist was a much beloved synthesiser.
A player’s machine, its early aftertouch
capability attracted solo noodlers such as Tony
Banks, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, among
many others… yet next to today’s wonder
synths, it’s, well, just a 30-preset monosynth.
If you are Cherry Audio, what are you going
to do? Go original, or go 2023? Why not both?
6 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
Yes, in the new Cherry Audio Pro Soloist, the
best of old and new is merged, vastly bumping
up the original’s specs so the software version
has full programmability, polyphony, a dual-
layer engine, an arpeggiator, a mod matrix, and
effects. The danger is, of course, that these
extras could take it well away from the 1970s
machine, but Cherry Audio has made sure that
the core of the new instrument is faithful to the
original. The developer worked with
collaborator Mark Barton, who created an
authentic reproduction of the machine’s signal
path and the 30 original presets. Then Cherry
Audio used that as the engine and ladled the
extras on top. There’s a dual-layer voicing
architecture so you can mix and match two
sounds at once, each with 16 polyphonic voices
per layer and independent panning. With this
feature alone you can create more complex
tones which you can now save (again, unlike
the original). There’s also a split keyboard mode
and what Cherry Audio calls the ‘Last Note’
option that simulates polyphonic aftertouch
using monophonic aftertouch controllers.
The Pro Soloist has a three-panel interface
which expands the original’s abilities massively.
You get access to the original sounds in
Performance mode, while in Edit mode, you
get the keys to the analogue synthesis room
including the Resonator Bank, which was behind
the original’s realistic orchestral sounds. The
LFO and envelopes from the original machine
have been ‘revealed’, and a Super Wave
oscillator and six-slot modulation matrix have
been added. To finish, the third panel reveals an
arpeggiator and effects that include distortion,
phaser, flanger/chorus, echo and reverb.
As always with Cherry Audio, it’s a bargain.
Just $69 gets you an emulation of a machine
that you could expect to pay $2,500 for if you
bought an original!
www.cherryaudio.com
 news <

What’s on your mind?

They brought one of our favourite products of last year, and now Modalics
serve up another innovative beat-builder in the shape of MINDst
(pronounced ‘mindset’). This sample-based drum kit further expands on the
company’s innovative ethos that was established back with Beat Scholar.
The samples stem from recordings of their long-term drum guru Doron Girat,
and enable deep control
over the captured
performances, with
multiple strike zones,
intricate mixing capabilities,
and, importantly, whether
your virtual drummer
plays left or right-handed!
Our review is in the works.
MINDst is currently
available for $99 with
its RRP being $149.
www.modalics.com

Built to scale
On the heels of their Scaler composition plugin comes Scaler EQ, which
applies the same instant detection and suggestion concept to the art of
EQing. This ‘world-first’ idea enhances note frequencies that are in the key of
your song while minimising
those that aren’t. This is achieved
by the Harmonic Peak and Plus/
Minus filters, creating warmer
low and sweeter highs when
boosting. Key detection is
automatic. More details can be
found on PIB’s website and we’ll
be looking at it in-depth soon.
Scaler EQ is available now for
the intro price of $49/£49.
www.pluginboutique.com

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 7

> news
years
back
Our monthly shake-of-the-
head at our earlier selves’
news choices…
A decade back we were celebrating
the 200th issue of Computer Music,
a milestone the original team wouldn’t
have dared to dream back in 1998. To
mark the occasion, we dished up 200 (!)
techniques and studio secrets that we’d
accumulated over the years. Aside from
reviewing the brand-spanking new Nectar
2 from iZotope, and Akai’s MPC Element,
what was really on our mind was just what
Interestingly, AI didn’t get
a mention. An indication of
how exponentially it’s grown
2014 held for music production. One of the
most anticipated releases was the (what
we then described as) ‘near-mythical’
Bitwig Studio, still in development. “Surely
we can expect to see it in 2014,” we hoped.
Surely enough, a scant two months later,
and that first version hit our hard drives in
March 2014. Ten years later, and how are
they getting on? Well, why not peruse our
Gear of the Year feature on p16 (specifically
the DAW section) for our take on Bitwig’s
2023. Our other predictions foresaw a
greater focus on tablet and mobile
software (an accurate assumption), more
DIY and startup companies developing
cooler, smaller production-run synths and
gadgets (again, proved correct) and
greater focus on people working on cloud-
based systems. It’s quite interesting that
one of the major concepts looming over
every aspect of music production right
now – AI – doesn’t warrant a mention. An
indication of how exponentially it’s grown
over the last decade.
Our 200th issue gazed forward into 2014…
8 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
How do you start a new track?
We asked ’s audience for their methods…
DANIEL BOEN
“It depends, but usually from
the drums up, unless I’m using
samples. If there are samples, it starts
with playing them until it’s something
I like, then building from there.”
JOE FORTUNATO
“I get an interesting chord
progression going with piano,
then start making permutations of that
until I feel something from it. Then I’ll
audition sounds or make patches that
start giving it an emotional feel.”
TERRY CLARKE
“Work out the chord progression
starting with the bassline, then
build actual chords to that. Add a simple
drum rhythm. This then suggests an
idea for melody.”
Ins & outs
THE HEAT IS RISING
In a thoughtful, seasonal move,
Slate Digital has served up
Heatwave, a totally free one-knob
saturation plugin that the company
say ‘will set your mix on fire’.
Combining saturation, EQ and
compression, it’s a flavoursome
mix chain addition. Grab it now!
POCKET POWER
Teenage Engineering have released
their re-imagining of their beloved
Pocket Operator sampler with the
EP-133 KO II. This new sampler adds
more control with a reworked
sequencer, new punch-in effects
and an in-built mic for instant,
on-the go sampling.
COOLER THAN BEING COOL
The first album from Outkast’s
Andre 3000 in 17 years surprised
all with its flute-centered,
experimentalist sound. Taking
influence from experimental jazz
and minimalist composers, New
Blue Sun is an amazing listen, and
a far cry from the Outkast vibe.
JULIAN MORAWE
“Research. Trying something I’ve
not done before. Signal chains,
synth technique, feedback loops. Thank
God electronic music is a bottomless pit
in that sense. There are always new
things to explore…”
SUNNY RIN
“I always throw in a good DnB
drum loop first then use it as
a reference to work on my own drum beat.
I then start working on the drop right after.
I like having a good groove to start with.”
JORGE OLIVO
“I wait until I am almost done with
whatever I’m working on then
immediately drop it, start something
new on a whim and never finish.”
GONE IN 60 MINUTES
It took just an hour for
Glastonbury tickets to sell out
when they went on sale on
November 19th, leaving many
frustrated, although headliners
and major acts have yet to be
confirmed. They should be
announced early in 2024…
GET OUTTA SPHERE
The plans to erect a colossal Las
Vegas-style Sphere venue in
Stratford have been shelved
following local outcry and an
intervention from London Mayor
Sadiq Khan. He said it would
cause “an unacceptable negative
impact on local residents”.
ATTACK OF THE CLONES
YouTube have announced that
they will allow music labels to
take down content that harnesses
AI to emulate the voices of their
artists. The company stress that
this is mainly aimed at targetting
those who use AI to falsely
impersonate real artists.
Interface
Minimal Audio:
Current affairs…
Following industry-wide acclaim for its roster of top quality effects
plugins, Minimal Audio finally brought a delicious synth to the
table in 2023. But what makes Current so different to the other
softsynth offerings out there? We caught up with the company’s
head honchos to dig in a little deeper…
Minimal Audio
Jacob Penn (Founder/CEO)
Ben Wyss (Co-Founder/Head of Audio R&D)
Nathan Wexler (Co-Founder/Head of Sound Design)
: Hi guys, can you give us an overview
of how Current differs and expands on
what you’d typically expect from a
software synth?
Jacob (Jake): “We’ve all been using synths
since we were kids. Typically you look at
synths and they make sounds right? That’s
been pretty normal since the inception of
them, but things are changing and there’s
more capability. There’s more processing
power and there’s also just kind of a vision
we have for the product and for the
company that was there from the outset.
10 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
“The idea was to build an ecosystem
around a single product. We knew from the
start that we wanted to make a synth with
effects built into it, but we didn’t want to
have normal stock effects with three knobs
that you can’t really dial in your sounds with.
We find that it makes it really hard to make a
final patch in the synth when things are
constrained to that level. So we knew we
wanted to build a collection of plugins that
all formulate into one larger parent plugin.
“So when you open up Current you’ll see
that all of our plugins are inside it, and all of
the plugins originated from inside Current
and were taken out to be released
separately. We’ve been building Current
since the beginning but we haven’t wanted
to reveal that. We’re self-funded and we’re
boot-strapped, so we particularly like the
idea of the ecosystem concept, because it
makes a really nice workflow going from
product-to-product.
“It’s been a mix of ‘what can we do
technically?’ and ‘what can we do to make a
really kick-ass product as well as fulfil our
vision of making a very, very good
synthesiser?’. The basis for that vision for it
made us approach the design of it
differently to how others have probably
designed their synths.
“The other part of it is that we want to
continue to develop the synth for the rest of
our careers. We really want this to be the
product that we just get to make better and
better every year. How do we keep stuff
fresh? Well you might download a softsynth
but if you don’t use them for a while, you
might rinse the presets and then they fall by
the wayside. We wanted to add the cloud
connectivity aspect that’s widespread right
now. But samples aren’t everything. If you
had a preset that created sample-quality
sounds in the synth itself, then distributing
presets is a lot more intriguing than
distributing individual sounds. If you’ve

listened to our Current presets, they sound
more like loops.
“And, we’ve designed them so they’re
supposed to be played as instruments, but if
you hold the note down longer it’ll give you
a musical idea. A lot of patches will start with
the stab and you can use that stab to play an
instrument, but if you hold it down, a tail end
of the sound will come out and give you
more interesting musical ideas.
“The way that we do sound design in the
company is based on using instrument
racks. These are very different to
synthesisers – it’s difficult to dial them all in
together because you’re flipping between
opening so many different plugin UIs. Say
you want to change the attack slope on your
sound, but your sound is made up of five
different layers on five different synth
patches. Now you’re opening up five
different synths to edit five different ADSRs.
“That level of layering is really what
makes modern-sounding, lush, full spectrum
electronic music sounds. Getting the
capability to do that in one product grants
you presets that sound like samples. That’s
the vision. We want to make a synth that is
so powerful that you can make sounds right
inside of it; [one that] offers anything you
could want out of sound design.
“It doesn’t sound very ‘minimal’ to have a
synth that does all that stuff. Once you learn
it and get into the flow with it, there’s really
nothing more minimal than having your
DAW and one synth on a DAW channel and
removing that entire strip of effects – and all
that jumping around between different
plugins and different products.”
: So it sounds like building towards
Current was always on the cards? How
long has it been in development?
Ben: “There’s not like a super clear answer
to that question, but for over two years
“The idea was to build an
ecosystem around a
single product”
we’ve been working on this plugin as our
main project. It goes back a lot further. We
were working on Rift before that (which is
tied in to this via its DSP). Then it goes back
even further with the stuff that Jake and I
talked about before Minimal Audio. I guess
to the design decisions and building things
with stuff like Macro knobs.”
Jake: “It goes back a really long way for me –
I wanted to build this synth before I learned
how to code. If we think about when it
started, it really was my catalyst to begin
learning how to be an engineer.”
Ben: “Especially the granular sampler in
there, I remember talking to Jake about that
five years ago. Since we first launched, it’s
really been the focus completely. We’ve had
to release other things before this, but really
it’s all been kind of focused around this
release. Everything that we’ve ever made is
now in Current.”
Current’s Flex Chorus unison effect
Jake: “The Minimal Audio team is all new,
young people. We don’t have any industry
veterans working for us. Rift was also a big
education for the company – it was
essentially ‘here’s how you build a normal
plugin’. Once we had that unlocked, then we
were ready to build something this
complicated. You really can’t build
something like Current as your first project
in your career, it’s too complicated.
“The plugins were developed ‘inside’ of
Current before Current was a thing. We’ve
had an ugly version of it for a long time. We
needed to have a design system that
supported breaking the effects out
standalone. I guess there are more ideas for
more Minimal Audio effects that will come
out of this. We had to cut half
the effects from this, but
there’s a lot more effects and
we’re planning to release
another effect every quarter
– that’s something that will
be added to Current. We’ll be
slipping it in one day.”
: The wavetable oscillators look
deliciously fun to get creative with. How
flexible is this area and can you
incorporate your own wavetables?
Ben: “We’re very proud of our wavetable
oscillators; they use spectral processing
which allows for perfect anti-aliasing, which
is really nice, and also for us to do some
really cool effects. There’s the position knob
in the middle which is the classic ‘change
wavetable position’ control, then to the right
of that there are two controls called ‘Wave’
and ‘Warp’; they’re both effects that come
one after another. These include more
classic effects like flanging and wavefolding,
as well as synth effects like sync and hard
sync. Then the spectral side of things is the
other effect, that includes things that I
haven’t seen anything else really do.
“There’s a formant shifter that’s really
great that you might expect to see in a vocal
interface <
suite, then there’s spectral filtering effects
like unique phasers that remind me a lot of
additive synths. Something that you might
see in Razor.”
Jake: “There’s additive distortion too. We
can control the frequency and make sure
that no aliasing comes into play from the
distortion being applied.”
Ben: “You can get those effects to interact in
really interesting ways, especially if you do
modulation. I think of it like three-
dimensional wavetables – adding more to
the initial two dimensions. Of course, there’s
Unison which sounds great, and yes, you
can import your own wavetables. We
imported an algorithm which enables you to
drag and drop; it’ll slice it and process it.
We’d like to go further and eventually
develop a full wavetable editor.”
Jake: “There are a couple of different modes
for importing, but you can drop whatever in
there and it’ll detect the pitch and make
wavetables out of it. Most of the time it’ll
sound pretty cool. If you have existing
wavetables it’ll import them perfectly.”
: How can the sub oscillator be used?
Jake: “That’s a good question and it pairs
with the wavetable section quite well. An
additive sub-oscillator is something I’ve
been meaning to build for a long time. If you
think about Reese basses, they’re typically
made by de-tuning two square waves or saw
waves against each other to create that kind
of Reese movement. But the issue with that
is that you get the nice phasing sound that
you really only want in the mids and the
highs, but your sub does the ducking also.
The bass becomes unstable and you get
these volume dips in the fundamental of the
sub frequencies. What an additive sub-
oscillator allows you to do is to modulate
and apply those de-tunings to just the upper
harmonics of the sound.
“You can have a rock solid sub-
fundamental with lots of interesting,
characteristic high stuff going on. In the
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 11
Interface
synth environment it pairs really well with
the wavetables because you have the option
to FM/AM everything but also you have a
button on the wavetable called ‘remove
fundamental’ – if you want to replace the
sub with the sub oscillator, it’s a one-click
and you can replace it with the perfectly
stable sub-oscillator with that interesting
harmonic control. So you could use the
wavetable function for your mids and your
high ends and then the sub oscillator for
your lows.”
: How will Current continue to expand
over time? Will there be more presets and
packs produced for it?
Jake: “We’re not happy with the presets that
come with synths, I can say that confidently.
We believe that the presets we’ve made for
Current will actually inspire people and
show them what it’s capable of. I think Nate’s
done a fantastic job on this.”
Nathan (Nate): “Yes, we worked with artists
around the world to create the presets and
kind of the philosophy behind the presets
was to create ‘song starters’. I view Current
as the ultimate layering tool. With the
integration of the core module you can
really layer things and get song ideas out
right away.”
Jake: “We plan to release content at the
very least monthly.”
Nate: “We’re working with around 30 sound
designers around the world. We would like
to have weekly content with new presets,
new wavetables, new samples etc. It’s
always going to be growing. Providing
people with more inspiration to work with.”
Jake: “Even if Current was just a preset
player, and didn’t have all the surrounding
depth and complexity, it’d still be worth it
due to the quality of those sounds. We’re
confident that if people give it a shot, they’ll
stick with it. You can really play them too.
Working with samples can be quite limiting,
but with this you can re-pitch and perform
with them on the fly.”
Nate: “Maybe at some point we’ll be adding
a few more ‘simple’ presets, but we wanted
to really explore the layering component
with these first iterations of presets. Based
on feedback we’ve got so far, we’ll sort of
shift our vision, but this is what we wanted
to do out of the gate.”
The Stream is Current’s cloud-connected preset browser
12 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
Draw your own filter movements with Current’s Morph EQ
: Which of Current’s features are your
favourites to use?
Nate: “For me, working with it so much, I
love being able to mix the digital and
organic components of the sounds. I love
working with the sub and the wavetables,
mixed with the granular to create these
expansive composites of sounds. I also love
that you can play vocal chops inside the
“In this industry we can
build what we want without
having to sell our souls”
synthesiser. You can manipulate those with
oscillators. I also love the Chord Generator.
I’m not a big music theory guy myself so
being able to use the Chord Generator
inspires a lot of music ideas for me.”
Ben: “One of my favourite ideas is the
granular sampler, and there’s something we
came up with that we’re calling ‘layers’,
which is basically adding more grains. If you
have four layers that start to overlap and
you can actually start to sequence them in
different ways, in time and in playhead
positions, you can do these things that are
extreme. It’s almost like nonlinear loop
sequencing. Part of the reason I love the
granular sampler so much is a combination
of everything the three of us have worked
on. It comes together in a really cool way.
You can just do some things that I don’t
think other things can do. Interesting
approaches to playing back samples.”
Jake: “For me it’s just the overall user
experience. The stream is built in a way
where it’s not meant to replace the
traditional synth experience. I think we’ve
found a nice balance between exploration
mode and writing mode. It doesn’t feel like
the two things are competing. There are
separations of concern inside the
instrument that allow you to focus on
distinct areas. We didn’t want this synth to
feel like it had to be ‘on the internet’ to work.
What good is a synthesiser if you can only
use it when you’re online? There’s a strong
focus on local mode and a strong focus on
getting what you want, downloading what
you need – grab what you want and head
back to making music. We don’t want you to
spend all day getting distracted.”
Ben: “Something else that we can add to
that is that you can make your own preset
packs. You can customise
kind of like the experience
for yourself. You can
favourite things so they’ll
show up immediately in
the engine view. If you
want to load one of your
regular samples they’ll be
there waiting at the top. I
hope people are able to make it their own.
We want to continue to provide that but we
did a lot of stuff upfront to make it
customisable. We want people to stay
focused on stuff.”
: What does the future hold for Minimal
Audio, and how do you reflect on the
company’s successes so far?
Jake: “Nate and I have been friends since we
were 14 – and Ben and I since we were 18. We
all basically learned music together. One of
the best things about the music technology
industry, and plugins in general, is that it’s
one of the only places left where indie
people can make something special and
means something, and can go to market and
make a business for themselves. You
wouldn’t see these three dudes teaming up
to make a healthcare company, you know
what I mean? The accessibility we have to
actually make something cool is unmatched.
“We love the other developers making
their great products too and we hope
everybody has a ton of success and makes
awesome tools. I want to put that note out
there. This industry is one of the few places
where we can build what we want without
having to sell our souls.”
Find out more about Current and Minimal
Audio at www.minimal.audio
> cover feature / the awards issue

S | BEATS | M
F ECT IXI
E F N
| G
|M
TS
N
E

A
UM

ST
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THE

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I NS

2023

14 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024


As 2023 comes to an end, it’s time for us
to cast our collective minds back over the
last 12 months and sum up the impact
of the year’s releases as we enter 2024.
Across the following pages, we’ll scrutinise
what we deem to be the most significant
products (and updates) of the year,
exploring the trends, successes and jaw-
dropping innovations that have changed
the game at Computer Music HQ
It’s been quite the year for Computer Music,
though the start of the year brought a slight
internal re-alignment (with the departure of editor
Andy Jones, and the arrival of new editor Andy
Price) we’ve continued to keep hyper-focused on
tracking the ebb and flow of in-the-box music
production. From complex and rich software
instruments, lifelike sample libraries and new idea
generators to the onrush of AI-fuelled tools, we’ve
always been eager to review as much as we can.
However, the truth is that there’s simply been so
much released that we’ll likely continue to be
testing some of the deluge of 2023’s releases well
into 2024.
That being said, what we have scrutinised this year
has been largely excellent. Some offerings have
introduced something new, and others have solidified
already capable packages. Others, we now just can’t
live without. This is the feature where we justify that
love, and explain just why the following chosen
the awards issue / cover feature <
products have attained the highly-coveted mantle of
Computer Music Gear of the Year.
A caveat though; in past years, we may have been a
little too linear (and limited) with our choices, so this
year we’ve opted to analyse the year’s developments
within each category, and pick many more than just a
couple of examples of brilliance. That means there’s no
outright winners. As you’ll see across the following
pages, this hopefully makes for a far more engaging,
democratic and thought-provoking read than simply a
list of releases in a structured hierachy.
For ease, though, we have decided to add a concise,
at-a-glance summary of the key products mentioned in
the feature toward the end of each spread. Our
categories hopefully cover a broad selection of
products this year, with some (sample libraries, for
example) spanning a larger array of releases than
others. So don your fanciest evening wear, get papped
on the way in, take your seats and prepare to relish in
this year’s very special Computer Music awards.
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 15
 THE AWARDS ISSUE

DAWs
From long-awaited upgrades, to radical new
features, let’s start with that most integral piece of
software, the DAW, and how it’s evolved this year
DAWs are the central workspace for (pretty any audio source to be split into its component But 2023, for our money, belongs to Bitwig.
much) all computer musicians, however the parts. This fluid and fully integrated new feature Scoring a full-fat 10/10 in our review back in
sad truth is that once we find the software we definitely turned the heads of DJs, sound August, we said that, with version 5, “Bitwig is
like, we tend to settle in with it like a nice pair of designers and anyone looking to pull apart redefining what a DAW is; this latest update sees
comfy slippers. It’s rare for some of us to even those dusty old mp3s. That wasn’t all, however, it become a modulating monster of a DAW and
think of dabbling with an alternative. They all as Image-Line kicked off its new FL Cloud instrument”. This was the year when Bitwig
effectively do the same thing, right? completely threw off the
Perhaps more than any other year, 2023 saw (already dated) perception of
the major DAW manufacturers carve out The major DAW-makers it being a ‘beginner’s DAW’ and
established itself as the creative
increasingly individualised niches. We saw
Bitwig’s sound-design-focused v5 which added
vast modulation parameters via its MSEG
carved out increasingly musician’s workspace of choice,
with its five MSEGs (Curves,
system, Logic’s leap to iPad as a subscription-
based mobile DAW, and recently, FL Studio 21.2’s individualised niches Segments, Scrawl, Transfer and
Slopes) allowing you to create
much vaunted addition of slick stem separation modulation sources for custom
as a standard function. Many of the biggest envelopes, shapes and loop
players made major strides in underlining their sample and distribution ecosystem with the patterns. It, quite simply, opened up
points of difference to the competition. update, as well as throwing in a meaty Juno- unprecedented scope for sonic manipulation,
Perhaps the biggest news for most readers, nodding synth, Kepler. Taking all of that into finally becoming the DAW that its developers
(and still in beta right now) is Ableton Live’s consideration, it made for one of the most have intended it to be all along. It’s almost more
long-awaited version 12. Set for release in early robust DAW updates in our memory. of an instrument than a DAW. No bad thing.
2024, this extensive upgrade (which we delved
into last issue, via a hands-on preview) solidifies
Live’s beloved workflow with an enhanced UI,
new MIDI-transforming abilities as well as
a selection of meaty new instruments: Roar,
Meld and Granulator III, each of which add even
more dexterity to a touchstone DAW which
utterly dominates the electronic music space.
This upcoming upgrade wasn’t the only
major move made by Ableton this year, with the
third version of its Push hardware controller
housing a version of Live within its shell.
Following in the footsteps of Akai’s trailblazing
Force, this move ostensibly allows users to write,
mix, perform and more using Live but sans
desktop computer. Back in our August issue, we
pondered if this was potentially the firing gun on
a move away from desktop-oriented production.
Yet, with the aforementioned feature-rich Live 12
looming, we don’t think that’s a worry for the
foreseeable. There’s more about this in our
‘Innovations’ category later.
It was also a big year for Image-Line, with the
FL Studio 21.2 update adding stem separation
to the mix. Harnessing the now-omnipresent
power of AI, the stem separation tool allows for Ableton Live 12’s updated features are expected to redraw the musical map yet again

16 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024


IN FOCUS…
Avid Pro Tools Sketch
Avid also had a notable year, with the arrival of Pro Tools Sketch – the
company’s new loop-based environment – seemingly designed to
attract those familiar with Ableton Live-esque workflows over into the
Avid ecosystem. Though Pro Tools is unarguably the industry standard
for pro workflows, it’s never been a safe bet for dance and electronic
artists, who tend to favour the type of clip-based workflows as (now)
evidenced within Sketch. Despite allowing users the ability to mix with
16 tracks of audio and MIDI, we were initially dubious of Sketch’s
long-term allure, with the lack of third-party plugin support meaning
that users are limited to the built-in tools and instruments provided.
But, it’s clear from its name that Sketch, at least at this stage, isn’t
coming for those industry-leading clip-launch kings just yet. Instead,
Sketch is positioned as a quick-fire way of building up basic ideas,
which (Avid certainly hope) can then be worked on properly in Pro
Tools. Another massive benefit is the price tag, or rather the lack
of one. Available as an iOS app as well as in-DAW, Sketch is both
a self-sufficient idea-crafting tool, and a swift bridge across to
the Avid universe!
AND THE AWARDS GO TO…
WINNER WINNER WINNER
Bitwig Image-Line Ableton
Bitwig Studio 5 FL Studio 21.2 Live 12 (Beta)
the awards issue / cover feature <
PreSonus Studio One 6.5
PreSonus brought a significant update to Studio One v6.5, most
notably adding a native Dolby Atmos renderer to its toolkit. The
renderer is built into its multi-channel mixing workflow and offers a
parallel output for binaural monitoring. The now spatial audio-angled
DAW also sports an all-new Surround Panner and Dolby Atmos Object
Panner, essentially normalising the once highly specialised world of
spatial audio and making it an easy-to-access, creative route for any
Studio One user. While the fluidity of these resource-demanding Atmos
tools will largely be gauged by how fast your computer is, we were
amazed at how smoothly they seemed to run on an Intel-based Mac.
Beyond this very 2023 addition, PreSonus also unveiled their new
open-source, cross-DAW file format, dubbed DAWproject. This new file
format, produced with Bitwig, enables an entire project to be packaged
up, compressed and shared between systems (and DAWs) easily. A big
point of difference to current solutions out there is that specifics like
project automation, plugin settings, channel strip settings, clips and
scenes are also bundled together within the new format. While
adoption has been limited at this point, the potential doors this
could open down the line are certainly exciting.
WINNER WINNER
Avid PreSonus
Pro Tools Sketch Studio One 6.5
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 17

Software synths
2023 saw an overwhelming amount of exceptional
new softsynths, from dexterous sound-shapers to
meticulously crafted recreations of yesterday’s classics…
It’s been a year of continuing evolution for
software synths, with many of the market
leaders seemingly crafting future classics on a
monthly basis. We’ve been particularly
enraptured by the wares of Cherry Audio this
year, a company which has grown from small
beginnings to standing at the absolute forefront
of recreating hardware legends in software.
Among a slew of impressive releases this
year, the Mercury-6 is still blowing our
proverbial socks off. This meticulous Jupiter-6
recreation invites enormous creativity. Its
vibrant Unison mode and the ability to stack up
to 32 oscillators, mean that – on a sonic level at
least – it improves on the hardware in every
conceivable way. It’s a big synth, and thankfully
Cherry Audio’s focus mode allows you to zoom
into each area to scrutinise in detail. It also
features a useful standalone mode which
enables you to work with Mercury-6 without
any other distractions. Superb.
Another of our go-to synth titans, GForce
Software were similarly productive, with both
their Oberheim OB-X and M-Tron Pro IV leaving
us buzzing. But, the one that we keep calling up
the most has to be the MiniMonsta 2. This
magnificent, 16-voice Minimoog resurrector
instantly took the mantle of the being the most
exacting sonic recreation (and there have been
many) of that famed legend, whilst also
providing a tonne of further software
manipulation. The 800 patches and attractive
sub-£50 pricetag make it one of the year’s
finest softsynth packages.
Minimal Audio released its first synth,
Current, as we entered Q4 of the year. Although
the launch was somewhat overshadowed by
18 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
THE AWARDS ISSUE
the confusion around whether access was
subscription-only or available outright
(a situation later clarified by the company), the
synth itself was an absolutely astounding piece
of modern synth design, with deep modulation
abilities and lush big-screen sounds easy to
conjure. It’s certainly been one of 2023’s most
eye-opening releases. We spoke to the company
about the synth this issue, on page 10.
2023 was the year when Sonic Charge Synplant finally
brought out its long-awaited v2
Effects-gurus (and regular CM giveaway
contributors) Baby Audio released its very
first softsynth this year. The BA-1 saw their
appreciated ‘simplified’ aesthetic ethos to
the often perplexing world of synthesis, and
conjured something of an instant classic on
its first go. The BA-1 was based on the Yamaha
CS-01, so if you want ’80s retro nostalgia you’ll
get it in spades, but it’s that welcoming UI that
makes speed and instant results its watchword.
We’re incredibly excited to see what Baby Audio
does next in this domain.
Going back to the very start of the year (and
technically, the very end of last year – but who’s
really poring over a calendar and shaking a fist?)
and we were bowled over by Kult. The synth
produced by Dawesome in conjunction with
Tracktion has an absolutely fantastic visual
representation of the sonics you’re crafting.
Spawned from the mathematical theory of
chaos, the end result is something quite unlike
the other softsynths in your stable. The
oscillators, modulators, filters, effects and more
can be blended and twisted to suit, while the
visual feedback provides an experience unlike
any other. Top notch.
Another notable addition to this catalogue of
extraordinary 2023 synths is Sound Particles’
Synplant 2 – reviewed in this very issue.
Improving on one of the most creative software
synths ever produced, this long-awaited second
iteration of the branch-growing creative garden
earns plaudits for rewriting its synth engine,
adding even more out-of-the-box creative
experiment-provokers and, importantly,
re-establishing Synplant in 2023 as one of
the most original synthesiser designs ever.
 the awards issue / cover feature <

IN FOCUS…

FabFilter Twin 3 Arturia Pigments 4

FabFilter’s Twin is a legendary softsynth. First released in 2005, its
substantial array of dance-friendly presets, easy-to-use workflow and
exceptional sound, the early pioneer became a firm favourite. Twin 2
arrived in 2009 with even more bells and whistles. It took a scant 14
years before we got the third incarnation. Twin 3 brought a completely
redesigned GUI, a far slicker workflow, a range of new oscillators and
filters, an all-new drag-and-drop modulation system, plus an added
effects section. Despite these big changes whisking Twin right into the
2020s (side by side with FabFilter’s array of industry standard tools),
it’s still recognisable as the same synth we first fell in love with. In our
review, we said, “Twin 3 boasts huge sounds [but] it’s where you can
take them that counts, though, and in such an easy way that Twin
becomes more of a sound design tool than a preset plunderer.
A cracking update, then, and if you need a synth that punches through
your mixes and explores new textures, it’s right here. Fab times three”.
While technically Arturia’s Pigments 4 came at the very close of 2022,
it’d be remiss not to mention that we spent the first few months of this
year consumed by its tightened-up brilliance. At its heart are two
assignable sound engines, which allow flexible sound generation
from four different synthesis areas; Analog, Wavetable, Sample and
Harmonic. Version 4’s additions both streamlined and brought out the
best of Pigments, enabling us to modulate pretty much every element
of the sound at will, with its beautiful drag and drop interface making
extreme sonic versatility an uncomplicated joy. Pigments 4 notably
improved the sound engine department. Wavetable now sports Ring
Mod, while there were big updates to the Unison operation across all
sound engines. Pigments already sounded extraordinary, but these
upgrades provided added value to an already substantial offering.
63 new wavetables as well as numerous new filters nudged us into
new aural directions.

AND THE AWARDS WINNER WINNER

GO TO… FabFilter
Twin 3
Arturia
Pigments 4

WINNER WINNER WINNER WINNER WINNER

Cherry Audio GForce Minimal Audio Baby Audio Sonic Charge
Mercury-6 MiniMonsta 2 Current BA-1 Synplant 2

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 19

 THE AWARDS ISSUE

Beats and
drum machines
Both retro-tinged emulations and innovative
rhythmic re-thinkers disrupted the way we
approached designing our drums in 2023
Time to switch our attention to groove- aligned patterns and trigger them at will. The Scholar, re-imagines the art of drum craft into
crafters, beat-builders and all things retro flavourings of many of the kits and sounds something entirely fresh. Starting with up to 72
rhythmic now as we take a look at our favourite was just the icing on the cake. In our review, we instruments (3,000 samples!) including classic
software drum machines of 2023. This is a broad said, “Overall, Circuits offers quality vintage drum machines and meticulously recording
category, as acoustic drum emulations sit side- sounds, a unique way to easily program drums, acoustic kits, Plankton Drummer offered up
by-side with wholly new concepts in beat-design and an abundance of controls for further a robust, unique ‘plankton’ sequencer system,
UI philosophy. Speaking of which, an instant processing. It’s a great-sounding plugin for converting the MIDI keyboard into a sample and
favourite this year was Modalics Beat Scholar. creating vintage grooves. It has many unique pattern-triggering workstation. A selection of
This debut product by the small software features that producers will love.” lanes can further add colour and humanity to
company surprised us by both redefining the the resulting beats. It’s a pretty
depths of detail we could get via its ‘pizza’ slice marvellous way into not just
ethos, and with just how intuitive making the
wonkiest and weirdest of beats could be. In our
We were surprised by just beat-building, but exploring new
rhythmic shapes and creative
review, we summed up our glowing praise by
saying, “Beat Scholar will undoubtedly be a how intuitive making the ideas. “It’s very rare to find a
drum package with such a wide
welcome addition to the collections of remit, with such capacity for
producers who need to fine-tune and tweak,
with endless scope to minutely re-shape drum
wonkiest of beats could be extraordinary creativity,” we
exclaimed. “Underneath the
patterns over time, to get absolute precision or Kontakt exterior lies one of the
even its opposite – joyous freeform humanity Pushing the very concept of a Kontakt most creative drum products that we’ve
and expressivity. Hitting the ground running instrument to its furthest creative reaches, encountered. It’s perfect for more basic duties,
with its first product, we’re excited to see where Sound Dust Plankton Drummer went far but its brilliance really shines bright as you
Modalics’ giddy creativity will take it next”. beyond the run-of-the-mill and, much like Beat begin to explore its hidden depths.”
We didn’t have to wait long, with its EON
Arpeggiator being similarly top-notch.
While Beat Scholar re-wrote the rulebook of
beatcraft, there have been releases that brought
tried-and-tested drum machine classics into our
DAWs. The most notable of these was D16’s
Drumazon 2 – landing a full 16 years after the
original’s release. Like the original release,
Drumazon 2’s objective is to bring the classic
909 drum machine right up to date, with flexible
and vibrant effects engines complementing the
superb (and hugely editable) drum sounds, as
well as a fluid sequencer. If you want to-the-
point, full-phat 909 beats then this will do the
job and then some. As we said in our review,
“Drumazon 2 has kicked out every other drum
machine and 909 emulator we use, as well
as making us cut down on our reliance on
sampled loops and breaks. It’s brilliant”.
Another release this year that devoured our
time and got us thinking about beats in an
entirely different way was UJAM’s Beatmaker
Circuits. Using the MIDI keyboard, Beatmaker
Circuits invites users to craft arrangement- UJAM Beatmaker Circuits provided a fresh new way of building beats via our keyboard

20 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024

 the awards issue / cover feature <

IN FOCUS…

Toontrack Hitmaker SDX Nektar Aruba/Nektarine

As one of the industry’s well-established figureheads for peerless drum
software, Toontrack continued to expand its palette this year with
a series of releases. The one we especially favoured, Hitmaker SDX,
expands the company’s core Superior Drummer 3 software, overseen
by legendary producer Hugh Padgham. Hugh, of course, was
responsible for major hits from the likes of Genesis, The Police and the
mighty Phil Collins. Hitmaker SDX recreated the conditions Padgham
used to record many of these iconic drum sounds. Aside from the
authentic-sounding acoustic kits, there was also a lovely choice of
electronic sound sources with some apt grooves and loops to express
the best of these lush kits. Of course, that famous Phil Collins In the Air
Tonight sound is foregrounded heavily by the ‘Center Stage Kit’, replete
with suitable ambient room miking overseen by that track’s original
producer. “Whether you want something nostalgic or just some
great-sounding drums to use dry, Hitmaker provides some of the
best content in the Superior SDX series,” we said.
Though we’ve largely stuck to software when bestowing our awards,
Nektar’s Aruba was certainly among our favourite new hardware
additions to the mix in ‘23, allowing us to create hybrid kits from
numerous different plugins and sound sources. Originally titled ‘Aura’,
this re-branded and refined 16-pad drum controller pairs with Nektar’s
‘Nektarine’ DAW management system, allowing for swift transport
control as well as expanding our beat-building ability via its ability to
assign numerous different plugins into its pads, allowing us to trigger
samples from our whole arsenal of software drum machines on the fly.
That is, if you’re not already satisfied with its 45 unique kits and 600
drums sounds provided. Indeed, in our review we noted that, “One of
our favourite attributes of Aruba is the way it pushes you to bring your
drum samples and plugins together to craft per-pad combinations. It
seems like that’s what Nektar is encouraging here”. In conclusion we
defined Aruba as less of a standalone drum machine, and more of
a rhythmic-leaning interface.

AND THE
AWARDS WINNER

GO TO… Ujam
WINNER WINNER
Modalics D16 Beatmaker
Beat Scholar Drumazon 2 Circuits

WINNER
Sound Dust WINNER WINNER
Plankton Toontrack Nektar
Drummer Hitmaker SDX Aruba

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 21

 THE AWARDS ISSUE

Creative effects
From signal-muddying modulation effects, idea-
stirring delays to veritable arenas of sonic colour,
2023 has been a red letter year for creative effects
The creative effects category is an expansive ways. It’s proved to be a solid choice for beefing But while these individual releases were
one, taking in distortions, delays, choruses, up basses and deepening synth pads in our notable additions to our arsenals, if we’re really
reverbs and more – it’s a tough one to narrow homemade classics this year. being honest, for the effect-minded, the release
down. As our ethos this year is all about sharing Later this issue, we review Baby Audio’s high- of Arturia’s FX Collection 4 mega-bundle is
the love, and not attributing one singular award profile Andrew Huang collab, Transit. And, really all that you would need for getting
to a central winner, it’s made the job slightly (spoiler alert), we find this multi-effect transition- seriously creative with sound. It contains every
easier. But still, there’s quite a bit of ground to building tool to be an absolute beast as both effect that Arturia has ever done for a far more
cover. One release that we can universally agree a dynamic effect and an arrangement enhancer. manageable price-tag than if you were to buy
exceeded expectations was Erica Synths’ Zen them individually. Alongside the
Delay Virtual. Nothing was sacrificed when
building the modern classic hardware Zen Delay Retro flavours continued to tried and tested classics were
some newbies, like Dist Coldfire,
hardware unit in the software domain. Retaining a hugely scaleable distortion
the simple, knob-based UI of its parent, the ‘ZDV’
makes crafting captivating delays incredibly
dominate the music plugin that can be put to use in
a lot of different contexts. Then
easy, while further subtle tweaks of the Drive,
Feedback and Resonance knobs yield expansive
production space there’s the Rotary CLS-222,
replicating the type of hypnotic
flavours that few software-based delays can rotating Lesley speaker effect as
generate. The expanded modulation and used by the likes of Pink Floyd
routing controls within the software version led It’s the latest big move from Baby Audio, having and other psychedelic dream-weavers. These,
us to proclaim that the ZDV represented “a fluid released its first softsynth this year in the amongst a couple of other additions, cemented
transition of a modern hardware classic into a shape of the ultra-cool BA-1, not to mention this bundle as something we’d heartily
versatile software delay. We’ll be keeping ZDV collaborating with this very magazine on recommend to anyone with the wallet depth
close”. And, we have. a unique beat-beefer Beat Slammer (see CM327). to be able to afford it.
Retro flavours continued to dominate the
music production space in 2023, with JMG
Sound’s Retronaut being a particularly vibrant
addition to the growing arcade hall of
’80s-leaning effects. Ostensibly a multi-voice
vibrato and chorus, this ‘lofi nostalgia machine’
went beyond the norm with its expansive
modulation options and peerless memory-
stirring sound palette. In our review, we
concluded that, “While we’re not exactly lacking
in vintage-angled software in our collection, the
sound-enlivening qualities that JMG Sound’s
latest bring make it far more than just the
nostalgia machine the company promised.”
While not an area that typically gets treated
with the same level of creative innovation as
delays, distortions and reverbs, the classic
chorus effect was shown some love by Caelum
Audio whose Choric plugin presented some
extraordinary methods to sculpt and shape
effects and instruments with chorus, unison
and ensemble hybrids. Beyond broad strokes,
detailed parameters such as Looseness, Dark
and Warm adjusted the flavours in interesting Arturia FX Collection 4: it’s not an individual release, but this bundle’s incredible scope made it a big go-to this year

22 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024


IN FOCUS…
Polyverse Supermodal
Now this one really blew our socks off. Polyverse’s fantastic filtering
monolith was a colourful, expressive sound-expander in a user-friendly
interface. What we really loved is that it encourages users to get
creative with its 27 filter types, all powered by the powerful
science-driven modal filtering ethos. Blending and balancing the
different filters presented us with ways of shaping some of the most
rich, fluid and expressive creative effects we’ve heard this year, with
textures that span delay, distortion, oddly squeezed and granulated
ambiences. The modulation section widens the scope of Supermodal,
and gives you the ability to choose from a range of sources and
modulate their parameters with extreme ease. As we noted in our
review, while other creative filtering options tend to produce results
that can often sound too gimmicky to use within a wider mix,
Supermodal’s results balance the gulf between the ultra-snazzy and the
mix-aware. “You might not know where you’re going, and there will be
twists and turns, but what a creative journey you’ll have,” we raved.
AND THE AWARDS
GO TO…
WINNER WINNER WINNER
Caelum Audio Baby Audio Arturia
Choric Transit FX Collection 4
the awards issue / cover feature <
United Plugins Pluralis
Pluralis was something of a surprise considering it presented a slightly
different route to achieving delicious delays. Its dual-engine
architecture allowed users to process either of its two effect engines up
to four different ways and also as a combination. While these malleable
sound-carving abilities running simultaneously might sound like
a recipe for a gnarly mess, the adept synchronisation maintained
perfect balance between those core ingredients. The results are nearly
always captivating, and easy to further shape with the audio splitting
and modulation options available. These include affecting the feedback
and dispersion of the sound as well as its level and rate. If this all sounds
a little too abstract, Pluralis came with a vast array of ready-to-go
presets that spanned all four modes, some artist-designed sounds, plus
one each with 100% wet mixes so you can really hear your basic sounds
grow. “There’s little else out there that goes as deep,” we said, “but that
is also as easy to master. Once you’ve got a handle on the four different
modes you’ll wonder why all processors don’t use them.”
WINNER WINNER
Erica Synths JMG Sound
Zen Delay Virtual Retronaut
WINNER WINNER
Polyverse United Plugins
Supermodal Pluralis
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 23
 THE AWARDS ISSUE

Sample libraries
and instruments
As hard drive space has increasingly expanded, so
too have the size and scope of sample libraries
and instruments
Before buying any new sample library we welcome, but it’s really that gorgeous balance their very nature, full of character. They can be
ask ourselves two questions; does this new of careful piano character modelling, with the very difficult to capture in recorded form, which
library bring anything new to the table? And, added scalability of room acoustics and is exactly why a library of this kind can be so
two – how much space will it swallow up? From ambience that make this our ultimate piano useful. It provides sonority, colour and pianistic
expansive suites of delicately performed (and go-to. For the eighth time! personality in a perfect little package, a rare
recorded) instruments, to those deep sample- Having said that, there’s stiff competition in commodity in a sample suite.”
mangling creative tools that inspire you to craft the form of Sonora Cinematic’s Verticale. Sticking (sort of) with piano, and the
new sounds from pre-recorded materials, this Focusing on the upright Italian end of felt piano Uncharted 88 prepared piano pack from
year many have passed that test. sound, Verticale proved to be a masterful maker Heavyocity bowled us over with the levels of
We’ll kick off with one of our favourite gritty detail and characteristic
releases of the year, Steinberg’s HALion 7, the impact that could be generated
mammoth sample-and-sound-design-friendly
instrument that’s really a joy to use when
More than a few sample from the inner workings of a
piano, put to percussive and
processing or creating your own samples,
or when you’re harnessing its internal VIs to libraries have passed our rhythmic use. “Industrial and
horror-angled sound designers
generate new textures. While at its core, HALion will be delighted in these
remains the humble sampler first seen in 2001,
version 7 introduced deeper FM synthesis
“space and novelty” test immaculately recorded sounds,
but there’s also plenty here for
options via FM Zone as well as the new Spectral those who might want to add
Zone, granting us the ability to pitch and time- of those modern soft trailer-scoring sounds. resonant throbs, and punchy atmospheric
shift with ease. Summarising our review, we In our review earlier this year, we noted the undercurrents to their tracks,” our review stated.
stated that, “HALion seems to have been around difficulty that others have had in capturing “This ain’t like no piano you’ve ever heard
forever, which could also mean you overlook it these kinds of sounds. “Upright pianos are, by before, it’s a modified wrecking ball of power.”
as a relevant sound design tool in 2023. The
truth is, it’s still one of the most feature-packed
ecospheres out there. Ignore it at your peril”.
What of those aforementioned curated
libraries of playable sounds that blew us away
this year? While many releases in the orchestral
domain played it relatively safe, the likes of
Spitfire Audio’s increasingly expanding Abbey
Road series as well as Orchestral Tools Salu,
Drones and Peteris Vasks Strings became new
firm favourites. For us though, the latter’s most
interesting, and fun, release this year came in
the form of vintage toy and instrument
collection, Abacus. Curated by Richard Harvey,
it put a smile on our face with its charming
assemblage of unusual sounds, from old school
children’s toys to metallic instruments.
It’s really been a top-notch year for exquisite
piano-angled software, with Modartt’s Pianoteq
8 once again making the claim of being the
pinnacle of what’s on offer in the beautiful piano
sample instrument domain. Its expansion into
further instrumentation via the pristine and
nuanced addition of guitar was certainly Steinberg HALion7 showed that even older dogs can sometimes do new tricks

24 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024


IN FOCUS…
Toontrack EZKeys 2
2023 was a golden year for piano software, and one of the big daddies
of the domain got a sizeable update. Toontrack’s EZKeys 2 brought
with it a brand new core library centred around a Fazioli F212 grand
piano. Sounding utterly sublime, its thoughtful mic placement and
recording leads it to sound far more ‘real’ than many of the other
software pianos we’ve heard. It can go beyond the basic too, with
expansive patches that push the core sound into new cinematic
territory. The ability to run the software as a standalone package
as well as a plugin with your DAW, underlines the levels of depth the
software provides. The intelligence of its ‘Bandmate’ AI feature means
that any audio you present to EZKeys 2 will be carefully picked over
before additional melodies and new chordal directions are presented
to you, which are all completely editable after the fact. “This is a worthy
package for anyone who might need gorgeous-sounding pianos,” we
said. “It all sounds very fine indeed, with plenty of fine-tuning tools to
help you to the finish line.”
AND THE AWARDS
GO TO…
WINNER
WINNER Sonora WINNER
Modartt Cinematic Heavyocity
Pianoteq 8 Verticale Uncharted 88
the awards issue / cover feature <
Audio Imperia Dolce
Dolce recalls the romance of the golden age of Hollywood with its
chamber-sized string suite. Deviating somewhat from their growing
reputation as the ‘epic’ sample library specialists, Audio Imperia (in
collaboration with Jasper Blunk from Performance Samples) created
a much more sensitive, evocative collection with Dolce. Its emphasis
on individual performance wrings out every heartbreaking nuance of
the smaller string section. Its eight dynamic layers and flexible timbral
control is entirely manipulable via the modulation wheel. While it might
not be able to meet every orchestral requirement, as an addition to a
larger suite, Dolce serves as a beautiful emotion-augmenter. Its ability
to switch between ‘modern’ and ‘classic’ mic and recording setups
mean it’s a doddle to prepare for the type of mix situation you want to
work in. “The samples themselves are superb, with plenty of round
robins available on the shorter articulations where you need them,”
we said in our review. “It’s an ideal partner to Audio Imperia’s other
packages, broadening its appeal across all string sectors.”
WINNER WINNER
Steinberg Orchestral Tools
HALion 7 Abacus
WINNER WINNER
Toontrack Audio Imperia
EZ Keys 2 Dolce
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 25
 THE AWARDS ISSUE

Mixing tools
Time to show some love to those mix-fixing
plugins that offered genuinely inspired routes
to caress our frequencies and tame our tracks
While we all love our effects, softsynths and settings in particular, it sounds incredibly that found their way into our ‘Favourites’ folder.
beatmakers, when it comes to the crunch natural and transparent.” Blitzer and SubGen brought new ways to
we ultimately spend more time alongside our On the more conventional front, we were wrangle with compression and sub-bass
trusted workhorse mixing tools, working long impressed with Pulsar Digital’s Pulsar 8200, the respectively. On the completely original
into the night trying to get the perfect balance latest in its painstakingly accurate emulations of compressor Blitzer, we said, “Blitzer is clearly
of elements. While in the past we’d approach classic studio hardware, this time faithfully a plugin with a purpose. The powerful sidechain
each process individually, from EQing, modelling the George Massenburg GML 8200 coupled with tone and transient-shaping
compression, limiting etc, this year has seen EQ, giving you the ability to dial in the unit’s aspects achieve way more than a simple
a flurry of products that instantly yield top- characteristic warmth and detail, as well as hardware emulation. Bored of your existing
notch results across numerous mixing immense EQ controls, a plethora of filters and emulations? This could be what you need”.
situations. Foremost in our mind is LOLCOMP by some surprisingly computer-focused additions SubGen, on the other hand, impressed us
Mixing Night Audio. The second release from like the continuously smooth rack controls with its ease of use, and the heft of its low-
the company that was birthed from the mighty – something the hailed original didn’t have. frequency advancement. “SubGen is one of the
Grammy-winning producer Ken Lewis’s ‘Mixing Next, to SSL, and nestled among its rapid most robust sub bass plugins we’ve worked
Nights’, what the MNA team managed to release schedule were two particular products with,” we gushed.
concoct was nothing short of miraculous for
resolving many of our mixing headaches. Its five
curated chains for fixing and caressing different
elements of the mix, as well as its uniquely
intuitive (and ‘gamified’) UI made it stand above
many of its contemporaries. As opposed to
other compressors and processing tools,
LOLCOMP allowed you to remain completely in
a creative headspace while still applying some
deft compression chains, as used on many of
Ken’s Grammy-nominated releases.
Another masterful release came via CM
favourites Leapwing Audio, whose StageOne 2
adroitly updated its original stereo-field coraller
StageOne with masses of new additions,
including multiband processing and a snazzy
stereo visualiser that improves the workflow
tenfold. The original’s soundstage-controlling Solid State Logic sought to make sub-bass and compression tasks fun with SubGen and Blitzer
algorithms have been expanded also, with
Width, Depth, Mono Spread and Center Gravity
being joined by Phase Recovery – this enables
the plugin to smartly detect out of phase
components and work to re-align them instantly.
The visual feedback is both mesmerising and
a technical boon to those who struggle to
pinpoint exactly where the issues lie in the audio
spectrum. When it came to our review, we said,
“StageOne 2 is an exceptional update that only
improves on an already excellent plugin. It feels
like a Swiss Army knife of stereo manipulation
that could be used to refine and enhance
individual tracks or an entire mix, and on lower Pulsar Digital Pulsar 8200 brought the George Massenburg GML 8200 EQ into the modern age

26 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024

 the awards issue / cover feature <

IN FOCUS…

IK Multimedia ToneX PSP BinAmp

While we’re not devoting a category exclusively to guitar-related
software this year, there’s been more than one release in 2023 that’s
enhanced our six-string palette. Perhaps our favourite guitar-tone/
mixing addition came via IK Multimedia and their ToneX hardware/
software combo. It allowed users to capture and save their own guitar
rig, transforming the real world signal chain and letting it be dialled
into any mix situation if needed, without lugging amps, cabs and
pedalboards around. As with many products this year, the science
behind this capturing ability leaned on artificial intelligence (or ‘neural
network’ training) to ponder the input signal and reconstruct it virtually.
The process is super-easy, regardless of how complex your guitar tone
configuration is in the real world. Aside from this guitarist-pleasing
power, ToneX came loaded with masses of preset tones, spanning
models of over 100 amps and 50 pedals, which took in some of the big
names including Fender, Marshall, Mesa/Boogie and Soldano. If you’re
still not happy, all of these preset tones are infinitely editable.
Even though our review is yet to be published (check out next month’s
issue) we have been spending a lot of quality time with PSPaudioware’s
delicious BinAmp recently, so it’s certainly worth a mention. Taking its
cues from the Binson Echorec 2 preamp, BinAmp’s sound gave meaty
enhancement to many of our lower frequencies, with gritty saturation
giving character to the sounds it embellished. Though we had a few
issues with the hardware-mimicking GUI, these were negated by the
quality of the sounds running through it. The modelled Class A circuit
and triode valve really enhance second order harmonics, enhancing
pretty much any sound you route its way. The amount of saturation
dialled in is visualised via its handy ‘magic-eye’ which responds to the
signal level. Here’s a preview of our upcoming review, highlighting the
strengths of the plugin: “We particularly liked it on basses, pads, guitars
and lead synths. We were completely blown away by the energy and
excitement it added to some live-recorded brass parts we’d been
working on.”

AND THE
AWARDS WINNER

GO TO… Mixing Night

Audio
WINNER
Leapwing Audio
WINNER
Pulsar Digital
LOLCOMP StageOne 2 Pulsar 8200

WINNER
SSL WINNER WINNER
Blitzer and IK Multimedia PSPaudioware
SubGen ToneX BinAmp

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 27

 THE AWARDS ISSUE

Mastering tools
From tools that grant deeper control, to those that
hand-hold you through the entire process, 2023
saw mastering become a manageable process
In terms of the influence of AI on music For those who require a little more scalability, – for want of a better word – masterful. “This is
production, the corner which has seen brainworx delivered not one, but two quite simply the best mastering compressor
the most marked impact is certainly that of mastering-angled releases this year in the shape we have ever used,” enthused our reviewer. “It
mastering. Often referred to (not least by us) of Amek Mastering Compressor and bx_ delivers deliciously thick yet smooth low ends,
as the darkest of dark arts when compared masterdesk Pro. Unlike the company’s previous excellent control over transients and peaks,
to writing, arranging and mixing, the skillset Amek-emulating releases, the Amek Mastering and tons of overall cohesion and glue, all while
required relies on a different part of the brain, Compressor wasn’t based on any specific remaining utterly transparent with not a hint of
not to mention sensitive ears that can pinpoint hardware model, but incorporated elements pumping to be heard (unless you want it!).
when to make the type of mastering of the GML 8900 compressor among other AMEK Mastering Compressor has blown away
consideration that can make or break a track. every other compressor in our
While there’s been endless debate about AI well-stocked mastering rack.”
wading into the creative space, for those who
rely on external mastering engineers to make
For those who rely on Similar levels of praise were
heaped upon bx_masterdesk Pro,
those more big-picture changes, 2023 answered
many of their prayers. mastering engineers, 2023 the third iteration of brainworx’s
all-in-one combination of
For over a decade, LANDR had already compressor, limiter and tonal
established themselves as a pivotal name in the
AI mastering field, but the introduction of a
answered many prayers shaper. Its new Glue addition
brings dynamic smoothing into
dedicated plugin version of their hailed online the mix, while the Clipper smartly
mastering service caught our attention. The favourites of head honcho, Dirk Ulrich. Its rack- nips and tucks any peaks that exceed 0dBFS.
LANDR Mastering Plugin brought the shrewd style control panel included timing and shaping In our review we said, “This latest one-stop
algorithmic brain into your DAW, with simple controls while its three true RMS detector mastering solution provides extra control over
controls enabling users to instruct the plugin to circuits are sensitive to dynamic changes the process yet still makes great-sounding
concoct a master based on your needs. While happening over periods of time. In use, it was masters a cinch.”
our full review is still being finished off, it’s
certainly proved to be an impressive game
changer for many. But, if you’ve got the ability
to employ one, it’s not quite up to the level of
a dedicated mastering engineer (yet!).
A significant release this year came via Musik
Hack and their debut product Master Plan. This
simple to use, algorithmic mastering plugin
distilled the deep experience of its creators, Stan
Greene and Sam Fischmann, into a mastering
tool without compare. Balancing this ease-of-
use ethos with a scalability that might not be
immediately apparent, Master Plan is an
absolutely gold-standard finalisation tool. The
levels of loudness and oomph that it can provide
are unmatched, while clarity and frequency
response remains uncoloured. “What really
matters is the absolute sonic punch of the
plugin, in this regard Master Plan is a hugely
impressive modern mastering tool,” we said in
our review. “Nervous about mastering? Master
Plan has plenty of controllable content to make
home mastering a reality for all.” Our reviewers couldn’t get enough of the brainworx AMEK mastering compressor

28 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024

 the awards issue / cover feature <

IN FOCUS…

Universal Audio Capitol Mastering Compressor

If you’re looking to channel a retro-tinged, analogue vibe into your master
then you should really use hardware compressors… but if you’re as
computer-focused as us, then soundalike solutions are readily available.
Sometimes, what you can get in software far exceeds the results you can
achieve with hardware. This year brought a particularly good example
in the form of Capitol Mastering Compressor from Universal Audio,
modelling the hand-built tube compressor relied upon in the legendary
Capitol Studios (the CM5511) and subsequently used on thousands of
classics. With controls replicating the vintage knob-based front panel
of the compressor, the plugin is best used on complete mixes, on which it
delivers sterling results. As our review verdict put it, “With its meticulous
recreation of one of what you might call the rarest pieces of studio
equipment out there, UA has given us all access to a unique tool that can
be used both subtly for mastering or creatively ‘per instrument’. It’s not
the cheapest way into vintage tube mastering, but with those modern
enhancements and controls, is one of the most flexible.”
With this in your plugin chain, there’s little else you’d likely need,
especially if you’re after those gleaming, vintage flavours.

AND THE AWARDS GO TO…

WINNER
brainworx WINNER
WINNER WINNER AMEK Mastering Universal Audio
Musik Hack LANDR Compressor and Capitol Mastering
Master Plan Mastering Plugin Masterdesk Pro Compressor

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 29

 THE AWARDS ISSUE

Innovations
The following releases delightfully disrupted,
seismically shook-up and all-round innovated
our world in 2023
Creating a product that’s genuinely usable on very basic or advanced levels. The While our sonic palettes were definitely
innovative isn’t always easy. As consumers payoff will be a very unique sound which is expanded this year, Sound Particles’ SkyDust
we all get so used to familiar norms – the feel incredibly formidable and will have you 3D re-wrote the entire synth rulebook, and
of a weighted keyboard, the architecture of returning on a regular basis.” contextualised a software synth in the spatial
a synthesiser and the conventions of mixing Elsewhere, Void and Vista’s Strands similarly audio domain. This first ever 3D synth enabled
a track – that anything that goes against the offered up a flavoursome platter of sounds, users to pan each of its eight oscillators in
grain can be met with suspicious eyes. That harboured within an ultra-modern interface and different positions in the spatial audio sphere,
said, everything that we now consider central a revised route to achieving movement and with all movement via LFOs and modulation
to music production once took its own teetering depth within a mix. Aimed at those who make effects now transitioning across a much more
first steps into an uncertain world. Across all the music with the big screen in mind, its sampled expansive spectrum than the traditional left/
preceding categories, you’ll have noticed more sound sources leaned into quirkier lanes, taking right axis of stereo. The idea was rooted in
than a few products this year have done things in both acoustic and electronic sources, making spatial audio a creative consideration
slightly differently (Modalics’ Beat Scholar, spanning bows, cymbals, broken tape and noise. at the genesis of track-building, as opposed
Baby Audio’s Transit and Sonic Charge As we put it in our review, “Armed with a host of to a post-production afterthought. Our verdict:
Synplant 2 to name but three), but now it’s time significant control and editing capabilities, “SkyDust 3D… is more about designing sounds
to doff our cap to the truly forward-thinking. Strands is very much a worthy provider of ‘all… around… you’ as your local flicks will say.
While we’re largely keeping a software angle, unique textures, otherworldly patches and And it does it with the kind of aplomb that other
we can’t not mention the superb CMPSR from creatively inspiring content”. developers will surely seek to emulate.”
Digit Music. Merging a gamified, joystick-centric
interface, this hardware controller enables those
with limited accessibility a route into expressive
music-making with MIDI. It’s a highly
configurable beast, able to trigger chords,
explore the depths of MPE-capable instruments
and even take out onto the stage as a live
instrument in its own right.
We spoke to the team behind it earlier this
year, and gleaned some insight into why CMPSR
was developed: “We set the company up as
disability confident and so I think we both feel
that there’s a need for diversification in music
and the wider creative industry. That starts by
giving people a tool they can actually be
creative with.”
Back into the box now, and one of our
favourite forward-thinkers, Slate and Ash, came
up with the absorbing Choreographs which we
enjoyed delving into at the start of the year. This
divine texture and movement generator came
into its own as the sound design tool we didn’t
realise we needed. Built around conventional
subtractive synthesis coupled with deep
modulation, its contemporary and minimalist
interface invited sonic exploration.
“Choreographs is incredibly impressive,” we
said, “inviting experimentation and learning to
really get to grips with its depth, although it’s Sound Particles SkyDust 3D was the first spatial audio focused synth, and many will follow in its wake…

30 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024


IN FOCUS…
Physical Audio Modus
This innovative softsynth, from Physical Audio, took the traditional
– and somewhat outdated – concept of physical modelling synthesis
and concocted a synth that granted the means to build extraordinary
new sonic characters from hugely different starting points. Its interface,
displaying a virtual 3D sculpture of how these odd sonic fusions
actually look, pushed us into the realms of the abstract, and that’s
exactly where Modus wanted us to be. Its three main engines (Strings,
Strings-Plate and Plate) are the constituent elements of a much more
interesting whole. Its expertly designed presets showed the breadth
of Modus. Our time with the synth was one of the most memorable
gear-tests of the year: “Modus is for those who want to take a more
creative and unusual approach in both sound design and music
production. If you are in search of more off-road sounds – and
easy ways of creating more – then this is a surprisingly fast and
cost-effective option.”
AND THE
AWARDS
GO TO… CMPSR
WINNER
Digit Music
WINNER
Sound Particles
SkyDust 3D
the awards issue / cover feature <
Ableton Push 3
Yes, we’ve already heaped praise on Ableton Live 12 (in beta form) but
earlier this year, Ableton looked like they might just be spearheading
a revolution with their DAW-in-a-box third version of Push. Refining
what we already loved about the pad-based controller (by adding
MPE-ready new RGB pads, a battery-powered mode for mobile
production, and tighter workflow thanks to a sizeable jog wheel), what
really shook us was the incorporation of Live inside the unit itself. Push
3 let users trigger clips entirely within the controller, meaning that no
computer was required to get creative with it. Where it lost marks was
its lack of Arrangement View (though that’s on the cards…) meaning
that to really get serious with mixing a track, a desktop computer was
required. Thankfully Push 3’s integration with a computer was swift
over WiFi, allowing both their desktop setups and Push communicate
with ease. A desktop computer killer? Not quite, but a heck of a lot of
fun as a track starting point, and as a live performance hub.
WINNER
Slate and Ash
Choreographs
WINNER
Void and Vista
Strands
WINNER WINNER
Physical Audio Ableton
Modus Push 3
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 31
> interview / silk

32 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024

 silk / interview <

Hailed by the likes of Skrillex and Fred Again.., SILK’s

emotive hybrid of tech house and pop merges
melodic songcraft with irresistible, club-ready beats.
The likes of the soul-touching Quiver and the
crystalline surge of On My Mind reflect the breadth
of SILK’s talent, but hitting on a sound that
resonated took more than a few false starts…

For better and for worse, the relationship
between modern music artists and social
media is intertwined, meaning that while
small-scale DIY artists can suddenly achieve
global success and generate massive
audiences overnight, the requirement to
have such a self-built, ready-to-go audience
can now be the barometer on which major
labels take an interest. Alongside that
demand, there’s the cold reality that a lack of
instant feedback, or positive engagement,
can have detrimental effects on the mental
health of artists who are still developing.
It’s a situation that SILK (real name Olly
Ettridge) knows all too well. “I might post
TikToks and they might not get as many likes
as the [2022 single] Quiver one did,” he says,
“and you feel like shit about it. But, are you
going to let your success be governed by
that? It’s really damaging.”
But while Olly had been naturally frustrated
by the lack of response social media would
sometimes give to tracks he’d spent months
working on, it would also be instrumental to his
success. As with the aforementioned, sublime
Quiver, “I had this chord progression and
basically finished Quiver on a two-hour train
journey. I pulled in and thought ‘I’m just going to
post it online’. I thought people might not like it
as it’s a bit different to what I’d done before. But
at the end of it I decided ‘I don’t care, I’m doing
it’. I woke up the next day and it had like a million
views. It was a really crazy moment. I realised
we’d found something that landed.”
Before long, SILK was sitting pretty atop 55
million TikTok views, 35 million catalogue
streams and a euphoric summer tour in
Australia and New Zealand alongside Australian
DJ Golden Features. He saw out 2023’s Leeds

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 33

 > interview / silk
Festival in front of 25,00 punters, and, in
September, sold out his first headline
London show.
Supply the love
Let’s rewind the clock a little, to the very
beginning of Olly’s journey. We wonder if music
had been a prominent part of his childhood?
“I’ve always kind of been into music from a very
young age,” Olly says, “I was obsessed with
dance and indie stuff growing up. I started
making music when I was about 10 years old.
I went to Denmark Street and I bought my first
interface and a MIDI keyboard, which I still use
from time to time. I started from there,
experimenting with all the bands I was in, trying
to record some of our music. I went through that
phase up until I was about 17, then when I got to
college I got way more into dance music. I
thought ‘I’m going to have a crack at this’. I was
doing music production at college as well so it
kind of went hand-in-hand. My teachers Justin
and Jason were really into dance music as well,
so when I told them that this was what I wanted
to do they really helped me.”
It was at college that the SILK project was
born, as Olly began digging into heavy bassline-
driven music. “I did that as a hobby all the way
up to being 21. My soon-to-be manager moved
to Watford quite close to me. She was managing
Sammy Virji at the time who was quite big in the
bassline scene. I figured out that she was his
manager and then found out she lived just down
the road. I invited her for a drink and played
some of my music. It probably sucked at the
time, but luckily we became friends and that was
a secondary thing. When it got to the point when
Photo: © Pablo Gallegos
34 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
she thought she could help me out, she took me
on. That continued until I was about 23 with the
bassline/garage thing.” Unfortunately, Olly’s
sound didn’t seem to be finding an audience.
“You just know when things aren’t really going
anywhere? Basically my tunes were getting
better but the scene itself was tricky to navigate.
I noticed that pretty early on, luckily.”
It was only relatively recently that Olly
decided to take time out from his then-job, and
focus entirely on making it as an artist. If this still
didn’t yield results, he’d abandon his ambitions
“Your heroes are normal
people. Speaking to them is
a sobering experience”
forever. “When it got to the end of last 2022,” he
admits, “I said to myself ‘I’m going to give it one
last crack’. If that didn’t work I’d probably move
on and do something else. It’s been a long time
to be working on it.”
Taking a six-month sabbatical from his job,
Olly locked himself in his room, stopped going
out and invested every fibre of his being into
making the best tracks he could. “I thought, I’m
just going to do everything in my power to drain
my creative juices and see what I can get out of
this. Two months in, I had a fair amount of music
that was there and I was happy with. TikTok was
exploding and it kind of went hand-in-hand.
I thought I’d do anything to get it out there
so started studying its algorithm.”
During that time, SILK made Supply the Love,
a joyous, hands-in-the-air disco banger, that
heavily sampled Toto’s I’ll Supply the Love.
“Once I started getting a bit of traction on TikTok
a few labels became interested. I had a few
meetings. Nothing really felt right at the start,
but I was very excited. I had a first version of
Supply the Love, that was the one that turned
some heads. They wanted to hear more.”
Meeting an A&R from
EMI, Olly was delighted to
find a kindred spirit: “We
had very similar music
tastes, so what I was doing
just clicked with him. We
had that mutual respect
and common ground and
I thought I could see this
going the distance. It was
explained to me from an
early stage that you’ll
spend a lot of time with these people. To build
the project up.”
After a three-month period of work, he finally
signed with EMI. “Supply the Love came out in
October and it did alright – I think we’d left it
a little bit too long because we had to get the
sample cleared from Toto. It was very long-
winded. It was a summer record that came out
in October. It was a bit of an anti-climax after all
that work. Don’t get me wrong, I think the track
has grown and had a bit of life on its own, but
obviously labels and people want that initial
reaction from the off.”

Its follow-up, however, would turn the heads
of some of electronic music’s biggest players…
Cool as silver
With its shimmering vocal, infectious hypnotic
rhythm and glimmering synths, Quiver was
an unmistakable gem. We wonder how the
foundations of the track were built. “Well it took
a year for Supply the Love to see the light of day,
and a lot had changed since I’d first made it – my
production had matured and my taste had
changed quite a bit. After that, I was trying to
write another disco record. I wasn’t really feeling
it. It had kind of been and gone really. I didn’t
want to get pigeon-holed. I was writing a lot of
Quiver-type stuff at that point, but the song
itself came about during that train journey
between Bristol and London.”
Olly’s track-building approach had shifted
significantly from his earlier work: “The
approach I had to that, and I think it’s similar to
Fred Again..’s approach. I watched his Zane Lowe
interview after Quiver came out and it seemed
similar. Anyway, it’s an approach where you start
with the bare bones of a track and you then
think about things that can ‘live’ in that world.
You have a base of, say, drones to build out that
kind of feeling. I use a similar approach but with
other elements.”
Olly explains that building a track like Quiver
is essentially about creating a sonic ‘world’
“Essentially, you’re writing a song rather than
writing a dance record. That’s the least
pretentious way of talking about it! Basically,
if you strip Quiver back and you just have the
chords and the little floaty elements without the
drums and bassline, it would still encapsulate
those emotive elements, whereas if you just did
a straightforward 4/4 tech house track and take
away the bass and kick drum, there’s not really
much left.”
“There’s lots of little mix elements,” Olly
continues. “There’s a cello in there that you can’t
really hear, but you listen to it on its own and it
really makes you feel something. Your brain
knows its there! But, it’s not straight in your face.
You blend all of these things together and they
kind of create this texture that just tickles your
emotions. It’s quite easy to get caught up in your
productions. The [initial] mixdown on Quiver
sucked, I don’t know how I let it leave Logic. But
it made me feel something at the time. Nobody
has complained about it though. You can get
caught up in the little things, but for me the
silk / interview <
most important thing is building those bare
bones of the song.”
Following that phenomenal TikTok response,
there were a few internal discussions with Silk’s
team as to whether it should be put out so
soon after Supply the Love, but Olly insisted.
“I wanted it out this year. It was seven weeks
after that first TikTok that we got everything
together and the song was released. December
is a bit of a shoddy month to release music as
you’re competing with all these Christmas
records, it’s just like an industry secret to not
release music in that month. But It’s been
growing ever since that. That brought us into
2023, and this year’s just been incredible. I’ve
had so many amazing opportunities and met so
many great people.”
Among the accolades came high praise from
the likes of Skrillex, Fred Again... and Disclosure.
How does SILK feel about getting the nod from a
trio of his heroes? “It’s hard to not let it get away
with you, but it is crazy being in the industry and
spending time with certain people. You realise
how normal a lot of people are; they’re doing
exactly what you’re doing but on a different
scale. They have an image built around them,
but speaking to them is a sobering experience.”
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 35
> interview / silk

All day all night

We’re curious to find out more about the type of
tech that SILK uses in his productions, firstly, we
ask about those shimmering vocals in Quiver.
“That’s Soundtoys’ Tremolator, baby! The secret
sauce!” he laughs. “That is what I use on vocals.
There’s so much you can do within that, too.
There was no swing originally on Quiver, it was
4/4 straight down the middle. I’ve since become
quite good friends with Sammy Virji, with whom
I share a label. Over the last couple of months
he’s been teaching me how to work with swing.
He’s a swing god, it just sounds amazing. I’ve
been obsessed with that over the last couple
of months. It was used on the final version
of Quiver, it was used on [recent single] On
My Mind. If you look at the beat grids of those
tracks in isolation, you’ll see that they’re almost
sideways! With the Tremolator on that, there’s
a swing function in it, so you can kind of get
the vocals to follow those patterns. I’ve been
obsessed with that.”
Despite a burgeoning intrigue for hardware
synths (triggered by a visit to Australian DJ
Golden Features’ studio), Olly keeps largely
in-the-box. “The synths used for On My Mind
were all in the box. Last Time has some
hardware on it, though, including a Korg
Minilogue, and Reason has got some hardware-
generated arps off the Minilogue. Most of the
time I’m working in software, though, typically
with Serum or with the Arturia Juno and Prophet
emulations. In the future, it’s something I’d like
to explore a lot more. I also use Massive quite
a bit, just out of pure ease. They’re definitely
getting better at replicating classic tones.”
The imperfections with analogue hardware
are intriguing to SILK, though: “If you’re
experimenting with sounds and trying to get
cool stuff out of it, it’s probably better than
using software. You’re probably going to get
way cooler shit out of hardware. But if you
know what you want and you know what
should be there, then plugins are the way
forward. It’s the way they can interact with
everything in your project, too.”
Logic Pro is where Olly perfects his mixes,
“Logic is the stew, yes. Everything is done in
there; I love it. I think it’s the warmest one. That
being said, the warping in Ableton Live is so
much better. If I was to help someone starting Imagining how his
out making electronic music I’d say learn tracks will translate to the
Ableton. The possibilities are pretty endless
in Ableton, but I’m a Logic boy.”
“Do not put your art and stage is a big concern, and
underpinned the writing

Glitters in gold your content in the same of recent single On My

We wonder what environment SILK ultimately
prefers – the studio-based production process
or the hit of a rapturous live audience? “Writing
can be quite tedious because 90% of the time
it’s rubbish.” SILK explains, “But, I don’t think
you can really recreate that 10%, or even 1%
where you just feel like you’ve hit on something
when writing. That is the best feeling in the
world. You might even be sat in your room and
you get an idea. I’ve got ADHD as well so I’ve
got something of a hyper-focus. You don’t stop
or turn away from your screen for eight hours.
You forget to do anything else. But then, when
you feel like something clicks, it’s like ‘Oh my
god, I’ve done it’. That feeling is the best
feeling in the world.”
But, SILK stresses, the live experience can be
equally thrilling: “They’re two very different
kinds of things. It’s like serotonin and dopamine.
category. You’ll go crazy”
I would say it’s dopamine playing live, but it’s
serotonin writing in the studio. I’m so obsessed
with the live show. It’s such an engaging
experience. I supported SG Lewis on tour back
in March early this year. I remember seeing him
doing his thing live and the reaction was great.
It’s like seeing a band and seeing a DJ. At a rave
you might have people who have their backs
turned to the DJ, which is fine. That’s the way
that world is designed. But when you’re
watching a live act, the engagement is just 10
times more. I’ve been obsessed with that since
I saw him in March. I watched his show every
night when I was with him.”
Mind, which he wrote with
JIM. “I love how that song
came about. Again, it was
just a chord progression.
That was pretty quick-fire.
I wrote it just before
Australia with these guys from Germany. It was
just one of those things that came about just
like that. We wanted something for the live show
that fit the bill of being a ‘middle-of-set’ happy
peak. I was doing half support and half headline
shows dotted around Australia. For the support
shows, you want that moment that builds.”
Olly has come a long way in a short period of
time, and came very close to abandoning his
aspirations of achieving the kind of success he
now enjoys. When asked what he’s learned – and
what wisdom he’d impart to the next wave – Olly
takes a pause. “First of all, stick at it. Second of
all, find the lane that you’re comfortable in. If

36 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024


that lane doesn’t exist yet – make it! The Spotify
gods, wherever they may be, and people that
got hold of Quiver early, were saying ‘this is so
new, this is a new genre of emotional dance’.
I was just like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking
about’. My idea was to merge the things like The
1975 and Skrillex and make something between
those two worlds.”
This focus on being true to whatever
resonates with you personally is something that
Olly can attest to. Though he still feels there’s
a way to go in many respects, “I find myself in
a position where I’m still trying to prove myself
as I’ve only got four tracks out there at the
moment and a few remixes.” Olly admits, “I’m
hoping to get an album done soon, it’s on the
cards – hopefully next year. We’ll see how the EP
goes, which is out in February/March.
Depending on how it lands we’ll see. I’ve still
got a lot to prove, but finding something I’m
passionate about means you don’t care as much
beyond writing – If you’re aiming to please other
people it’s going to be very disheartening.”
The mental health effect that is placed on
new artists to build their audience is a big
silk / interview <
concern of Olly’s. “If I was to go up and do
a seminar on an aspect of the music industry
at the moment,” he says, “the title would be
‘Your content isn’t your art’. One of my
upcoming tracks is my favourite thing I’ve ever
written, and you need to get yourself into that HEAR MORE
mindset. We’re living in such a passive
environment at the moment, and one week to
the next it’s different. If you want to build an
artist project and have fruitful, long careers
– then don’t think about that reaction.”
That being said, Olly is confident that the
good stuff will find its way to the top: “Good
songwriting will prevail. Treat your [social Silk & JIM, On My Mind
media] content separate to your art – they are bit.ly/silk_mind
not the same thing. If you’re a musician then Quiver
bit.ly/silk_quiver
your content to promote your art isn’t the same
thing [as your art]. Do not put them in the same
category or you will go crazy. WWW
linktr.ee/silkmusicuk
“Ultimately, by keeping your head down and
focused on music you can yield better results.” soundcloud.com/silkmusicuk
instagram.com/silkmusicuk
SILK’s On My Mind, Quiver, Supply the Love and
other tracks are available to stream now. Check tiktok.com/@silkmusicuk
out his socials for upcoming live dates
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 37
 tutorials <

Become a better producer now

with pro advice, expert videos
and tutorials from our gurus

40 Gated synth
sequence
Dave Gale tells us how to craft this
Synth
Masterclass classic technique, using nothing
with Dave Gale
more than our handy Zebra CM

44 How to make a
killer drop
Sara Simms shows us how to
Dance Music effortlessly ramp up dramatic
Masterclass
with Sara Simms tension in your dance track

48 Mix bus
compression
Jon Musgrave demonstrates the do’s
Mix
Masterclass and don’t’s of mix bus compression
with Jon Musgrave on your final mix
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 39
Synth
masterclass
with Dave Gale
#35
Create a gated
synth sequence
Adding motion to a characterful synth
pad can completely revitalise your track.
We take two LFOs and get modulating
As any regular to our synth tutorials will
know, ZebraCM (our chosen steed for the
Synth Masterclass, available in the CM Plugin
Suite) is no slouch in the sonics department,
despite being a relative freebie. One of its
biggest strengths lies in its chameleon-like
flexibility, seemingly able to glide from the
most basic subtractive patch, to some
seriously capable modulation duties.
This is where we’re taking our Zebra today,
with the use of two LFOs, to apply different
forms of modulation to different aspects of the
patch. Firstly, we’ll use the LFO in its User
waveform mode, which allows us to generate
modulating sequences, up to 32 steps in length.
40 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
Download the accompanying video
and the MIDI/audio files at
bit.ly/cm330downloads
Dave Gale
Dave Gale is an Emmy
award-winning media
composer, producer
and orchestrator, with
an enormous passion
for synthesisers, in all
their forms. His varied
composing style
embraces everything
from full orchestral
and hybrid scoring, to
fully electronic scores, employing
synths wherever possible. He also
happens to own some of the finest
synths in existence but we’re not
jealous, OK?
While not unique to ZebraCM, it’s not a function
you find on many softsynths, even paid-for ones.
Secondly, we’ll exaggerate each modulating
step, by introducing gating to the amplifier
section, creating a form of gated synth effect.
Arguably, the front-end of our patch is relatively
basic, being reliant on a single oscillator and
low-pass filter, but it proves the point that
modulation can completely transform the most
basic construct, from simple to complex.
The net result is a patch that might normally
be created using effects plugins, but we’re
applying these intrinsic elements at source,
avoiding the need to spend money. That’s got to
be a good thing?
 gated synth sequence / synth masterclass <
> Step by step 1. Create a gated synth sequence
1 2
Let’s begin by initialising a patch on the ZebraCM. Open up your
DAW and load up the plugin. Once the plugin window is open,
move to the central display at the top of the window, click to reveal the
drop-down menu, and select ‘init’ from the bottom. This will initialise
the patch.
3 4
We’ll begin creating our sound with OSC1; click and hold on the
waveform display, and drag up to a value of 6.40. Don’t be too
concerned about the sound of this particular wave at this stage, as
we’ll be modulating it in a couple of steps’ time. By default, the volume
of OSC1 should be set to a value of 100, which we can leave in place.
5 6
To modulate the waveform, we need to assign the user-assignable
pot, located directly below the waveform display. Under the wave
pot there is a drop-down menu; click and select LFO1. Then set the pot
to a value of 2. This means that the incoming signal from LFO1 will now
alter the selected waveform, as dictated by the LFO’s wave.
This patch is going to be a relatively loud one, so now would be a
great time to reduce your master volume to a level of 70. Just as a
reminder, every time you tweak a pot or setting on the plugin, you will
see an accurate value/numeric in the upper display.
We’ll only use one oscillator for this patch, but we can thicken the
texture by applying a second aliased waveform. Select the number
two, so that it becomes highlighted in turquoise, then move across to
the detune pot, and increase the value to 1. This will thicken the texture,
and prevent phasing between the aliased waveforms.
Having laid the groundwork at the oscillator level, it’s now time to
move across to the filter section. From the filter-type drop-down
menu, select LP Xcite, which, as the name suggests, is a form of low-
pass filter, but one with upper-harmonic exaggeration, for additional
colour. Now set the Cutoff pot to a value of 89.
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 41
Synth
masterclass
with Dave Gale
> Step by step 1. Create a gated synth sequence (continued)
7 8
To further enhance the colour generated by the filter, set the
Resonance pot to a value of 10, and increase the Drive pot to a
value of 23. The Drive will add a small degree of distortion, which will
have the effect of warming up the overall sound of the patch.
9 10
In the LFO section, check that ‘1’ is highlighted in blue, then select
User from the LFO Waveform menu. Select Steps from the Mode
drop-down and assign 16 points, before creating an LFO wave-shape in
the display area. Try a wave pattern that increases/decreases per step.
Set Sync drop-down to 1/16, then set the Amplitude pot to a value of 67.
11
Move across to the Global section, which is located on the far left
of the plugin window. Locate the Volume pot and assign it to LFO2
from the drop-down. Then set the pot to 100. We can also apply a
modulation amount, by clicking and dragging on the small blue circle,
located to the right of the pot. Set this modulation to a value of 62.
42 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
Download the accompanying video
and the MIDI/audio files at
bit.ly/cm330downloads
We’re also going to be modulating the filter, from the source of one
of our LFOs. Locate the User-assignable pot, on the bottom row of
the pots within the filter section, and select LFO1 from the drop-down,
underneath the pot. Next, increase the pot to a value of 32. This will
then allow LFO1 to modulate the cutoff frequency of the filter.
Keeping within the LFO section, select LFO2, by ensuring that the
‘2’ is highlighted in turquoise. Select Saw Down from the LFO
Waveform drop-down menu, and make sure that the Sync setting is set
to 1/16th note.
12
Finally, we only require the use of ENV1 for this patch, as we only
need to control the amplitude, or volume of our sound. Set the
Attack pot to 0, Decay to 50, the Sustain to 80, and finally the Release
to 30. That should conclude our patch.
 gated synth sequence / synth masterclass <

PRO TIP Lusine (aka Jeff

McIlwain) uses gating

LFO ALTERATIONS techniques on his

track Transonic

While the waveform from the first oscillator is

providing the foundation for this patch, interest is
generated at the LFO modulation level. We’ve
engineered this patch to sync with your DAW at the
note value of a 16th note. It’d be easy to adapt this,
to a note value of your choice, that might be more
suitable for your production. It’s also important to
consider playing around with the User waveform,
which you have generated on LFO1. You can
change the number of steps, from a couple, all the
way up to 32. Combine this with the relatively large
number of steps with your chosen note value, and
you can create some very complex, evolving
cycles, which will sound incredibly interesting in a
production. By a similar token, LFO2 is merely
providing a gating effect, by following the shape of
a downward saw ramp, extending in the direction
of the Zebra’s main output. In this context, this
creates the classic 16th note gate, but you can
change the note value at the LFO level of LFO2, to
create a less frantic rhythmic repetition. The
bottom line is, this patch is reliant on the two LFOs
to do the heavy lifting, and altering the settings
may increase their potency within your production.

RECOMMENDED
Röyksopp’s Eple is an LISTENING
example of a string-
machine gating effect LUSINE
in action TRANSONIC
Lusine uses a very
similar gating and
modulation technique,
which can be heard
throughout the
construction of his
track Transonic.
tiny.cc/lus_transon

RÖYKSOPP
EPLE
This classic track from
Röyksopp uses string-
machine gating and
phasing, which is a more
simplistic and static
version of our Zebra
patch, but nonetheless
highly effective.
Frank Hoensch/Redferns/Getty Images

tiny.cc/roys_eple

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 43

Dance music
masterclass
with Sara Simms
#02
How to make
a killer drop
In this month’s masterclass we jump to
the element of a track that will get heads
turning and pulses racing…
In dance music vocabulary, the ubiquitous
‘drop’ refers to the section of a track
where the main melody is introduced, and
you can recognise it instantly for the fact that
it has the highest energy level in the track.
The drop is preceded by a build-up section
and break that has contrasting elements to
create tension.
After this section plays out, heavy drums,
bass and and the main melodic elements kick in.
The drop needs to land as powerfully as it
possibly can, and emphasise the theme of the
song to its full potential. In order to have
maximum impact, a drop needs the right
44 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
Download the accompanying video
and the MIDI/audio files at
bit.ly/cm330downloads
Sara Simms
Sara Simms is an
acclaimed DJ and
producer from Toronto
who’s played some of
the world’s most
prestigious venues
and festivals alongside
artists like Carl Craig,
Victor Ruiz and more.
She owns her own
record label, Simmetry
Sounds which releases cutting-
edge techno and house tracks
crafted by the next generation of
electronic music producers
combination of sounds and contrasting
elements for it to deliver the goods.
When you first set about composing a new
track it can be a good idea to start out by writing
the drop section first, and then use this idea as a
basis in order to write the other parts of the
track fluidly.
Once you’ve completed the drop using the
following detailed approach, you may well find
that you’ll be able to write the rest of the track in
an efficient manner. In this guide, we’ll look at
some of my own tips for creating a powerful
drop and some of the most current techniques
that I find helpful for layering sounds.
 how to make a killer drop / dance music masterclass <
> Step by step 1. Creating the drop elements
1 2
Choose a kick drum in the key of your track and program it on
beats one, two, three and four. The kick should suit the style you’re
writing in, and have a strong transient. Add a clap or snare on beats
two and four. Copy the clap to a new track, reverse it and use a small
piece of the reverse clap before the main clap hits.
3 4
Create the main lead sound for your drop. Pick one sound that you
want to be more in the front and use this to create the main
melodic line. Design your own sound, or use a preset. Keep the melody
simple, yet memorable. Use an EQ to roll off the high and low end and
focus on the frequencies between 500Hz and 5kHz.
5 6
Duplicate the main melody in a lower octave. Try having this
melody playing fewer notes to create space; it could play the
‘response’, so the sound mainly plays in the second half of each bar.
The ADSR on each synth layer can be set to the same values for a more
cohesive sound. Group synth layers and adjust their balances.
Add a chord progression using a piano or pads in the key of your
track as the backbone of your drop. If you aren’t familiar with how
to create a chord progression, try using a chord generating plugin like
Captain Chords Epic. The progression can be layered with another
instrument that has a strong attack to help it stand out in the mix.
Duplicate the MIDI pattern for the top layer. This will be a sound in
a higher frequency range that will complement the main synths.
Use the melody from the main lead as a starting point, but leave some
gaps to create a call and response type melody. Sculpt the sound with
EQ so it’s focused on 500Hz – 8,000Hz or higher.
Create your bass using the root of each chord as a starting point.
Add a crash by creating an instrument rack, and adding the same
crash sample twice. Pan one crash to the left, and one to the right, or
EQ each one a little differently. Alternate the crashes, and add four
crashes after four bars, or at the end of the drop.
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 45
Dance music
masterclass
with Sara Simms
> Step by step 2. Layering your bass
1 2
Create a sub bass for your track by using a VST synth. We’re using
Serum; start with an Init patch and turn the oscillators off. Use a
Sine wave and set the octave to -1. In the key of your track, program in a
pattern using one octave. you could try using the melody you created
in the first section as the rhythmic pattern for the sub bass.
3 4
Create a bassline with more movement in a higher octave. Choose
the sound for the bass based upon the genre you’re creating. If you
want to make a rolling bassline, load up a synth like Serum, Sylenth1 or
Ableton’s Operator and program in a 16-note pattern, leaving space on
the first 16th note of every beat for the kick.
5 6
Open your EQ and use a shelf EQ to roll off frequencies below
30Hz. Use a Notes to Frequency chart to boost the first
fundamental frequency in a track’s key. Cut the second to leave room
for the kick. For the key of A, say, boost at 55Hz and cut at 110Hz.
Enable the EQ’s Dynamic mode on both nodes, adding movement.
46 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
Add an EQ like FabFilter Pro-Q 3 and use a low-shelf EQ to roll off
frequencies below 30Hz. Use a low-pass filter and cut off all
frequencies above 300Hz. Next use Kickstart 2 (or a compressor that’s
sidechained to the kick) to roll off the transients of the sub bass, so the
kick drum will cut through the mix.
If you use Operator, use one oscillator with the waveform set to
Saw D. Set the Decay to 600 and Release to 50. Use the low-pass
filter to cut off the high end. To make the sound grittier, add Ableton’s
Drum Bus and set the drive to 20%, and crunch to around 30%. Lastly,
use Kickstart 2 to roll off the transients on the rolling bass.
Add a filter like FabFilter Simplon and roll off below 1,000Hz. You
could automate the filter’s frequency for interest. Add your kick
into the mix and use your EQ to position the kick in the opposite way
of the EQ on the bass. On the kick, boost the second fundamental
frequency of the track’s key, and cut the first fundamental frequency.
 how to make a killer drop / dance music masterclass <

PRO TIP

MELODY-MAKING
When creating melodic parts in your drop, there should be aspects that repeat. You
could write a bass part that has a repeating melodic or rhythmic phrase for the first
three bars, and switches in the fourth bar. This is called an AAAB pattern.
Alternatively, try an AABA pattern, which is the same melodic or rhythmic pattern
twice, then a variation, and back to the first idea. For the main lead, an AABC pattern
could be an idea for the melodic structure. This pattern repeats twice, then moves
on to different ideas.
For the final drop details, add an extra layer to your synths that’s the same melody
as the main lead and has reverb on it. Add a utility gain and automate the volume
up after the melody plays, so that the reverb increases in volume after the notes
finish playing. To add variation to the end of your drop, add a drum fill. For the
effects, add white noise as the drop starts to create a crash. Subtle details like
reverse effects help to add tension and excitement. Short effects like a reverse crash
towards the end of the drop can help to glue it all together. All of the sounds and
drums you create should work together to reinforce the rhythm of the melody.
RECOMMENDED
LISTENING

ELI BROWN
BE THE ONE
This is a great example
of a drop where the
vocals are similar in
melody and rhythm to
the main lead.
tiny.cc/eb_bthe1

AVICII
SILHOUETTES
This classic track by the
much missed Swedish
master features an
AAAB melodic lead line
in the drop.
tiny.cc/avicii_sil
s

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 47

Mix
masterclass
with Jon Musgrave
#15
Mix bus
compression
The mix bus provides the final stage to
tweak your mix and this month we look
at how to compress it
Mixing is typically a spiral process where
we gradually make smaller and smaller
adjustments as we return to different aspects
of the track. Processing the mix bus can play
an important role in this and help achieve a
finished mix that’s ready for mastering.
That said, opinions differ considerably about
how much a mix should rely on overall mix bus
processing, and specifically within this
processing chain, whether a mix bus
compressor is a good idea at all.
What’s clear is that poorly executed mix bus
compression can both ruin your mix and
massively compromise the mastering stage.
These considerations can easily make us shy
48 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
Download the accompanying video
and the MIDI/audio files at
bit.ly/cm330downloads
Jon Musgrave
Jon is a London-based
platinum award
winning mixer,
producer, composer
and club remixer with
a diverse CV that spans
dance, pop, rock and
music for media. He’s
also a long term
contributor to
Computer Music. Jon
usually handles final mixdowns,
which is why we’ve got him to
share some of his pearls of mixing
wisdom here
away from mix bus compression. However,
properly executed mix bus compression can
really help bring your mix components together,
providing the mix ‘glue’ that makes everything
sound cohesive and finished.
In this tutorial we’re going to focus on the
best way to achieve this, looking at not only
what we can expect from our mix bus
compression, but also a couple of different
approaches and also the type of compressor
we’re using. By the end of the tutorial you should
be more confident in your ability to select the
right compressor, adjust the settings and add
mix bus compression that will benefit your mix.
Right, let’s get to it.
 mix bus compression / mix masterclass <
> Step by step 1. How to approach mix bus compression
1 2
To get started, ideally you need a mix bus or mastering style
compressor and in the Pro Tip we discuss this in more depth. This
may seem like an unnecessary expense, and over time you may learn
to coax the behaviour you want from a wider selection of compressors.
Nevertheless, a tailored design is simply easier to use.
3 4
These tailored processors can also include other very helpful
features, such as stepped controls, good left/right stereo linking,
wet/dry mix or even mid/side processing. One of the most handy
features you’ll find – and it’s included on our SSL-style VCA processor
here – is a sidechain high-pass filter.
5 6
The next big decision is at what stage during your mix do you set
up your mix bus compressor. The cautious and probably more
common approach is to get your mix mostly done, looking at adding
mix bus compression once all your key elements are balanced. We’ll
start with this method.
Mix bus or mastering compressors usually include a smaller array
of options with the right kind of attack and release profiles, ratios,
knee shape and metering. This not only helps with settings but also
encourages us to spend more time focusing on setting the threshold
and listening to what the compressor is actually doing.
A couple of other considerations. It’s important to manage levels
entering your mix bus and the simplest way to do this is to insert a
gain plugin as the first plugin in your mix bus. Also, if you’re using other
mix bus processing such as EQ, be aware that changes to any
processor placed before your compressor may influence its behaviour.
Sticking with our SSL bus compressor, let’s look at some basic
settings. For pretty much any type of material, start with a
reasonably slow attack and a reasonably fast release coupled with a
low ratio. We’ve set our compressor attack to 10ms, release 0.2s and
ratio 2:1, lowering the threshold to achieve a few dB of gain reduction.
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 49
Mix
masterclass
with Jon Musgrave
> Step by step 1. How to approach mix bus compression (continued)
7 8
For more punchy material, we can step these settings up a gear.
We have a track that is a beat-heavy, four-to-the-floor house style.
For this sort of content, a higher ratio (4:1) and faster release (0.1s) are
perfect for this type of VCA compressor.
9 10
A second, arguably more challenging approach is to add the
compressor early in the mix process, possibly once key transient
elements such as beats and bass are roughly balanced. This method is
often called mixing ‘into’ the compressor and requires more awareness
of your mix bus compressor’s gain reduction throughout the mix.
11
We’ve loaded the same kind of VCA bus compressor and it would
be perfectly valid to use the same settings as our first technique,
but this time we’re going for something slightly different. The attack is
faster and release set to auto (which is signal dependent). We’ve then
reduced the threshold to get a few dB of gain reduction.
50 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
That said, the 4:1 ratio on this style of compressor has a different
onset, and so you have to adjust the threshold to a noticeably
lower setting. We’ve set it to achieve around 4 to 5dB maximum gain
reduction, and have then increased the gain make up accordingly
(+2dB). The outcome is more noticeable and works well for our mix.
Once again, place a gain plugin first in your master bus chain, in
case you need to trim levels. The goal here is to use the bus
compressor to help us balance the track. Here we have a simple drum
and bass track. It’s dominated by beats and needs cohesion, so it’s
perfect for this technique.
12
We can now proceed with the mix. However, as we push and pull
levels to achieve the desired balance, we’re also influencing the
mix bus compressor. Typically, low frequency content such as kicks
and bass will drive the mix bus compressor, and with care you can find
a sweet spot that exploits the compressor and helps gel the mix.
 mix bus compression / mix masterclass <

PRO TIPS

KNOW YOUR
COMPRESSORS
As is often the case when mixing, there is no simple
one-size-fits-all approach. Nevertheless, within the
boundaries of what we’ve discussed in the
walkthrough, and even when using only a
moderate amount of compression, different
compressors deliver their own sonic footprint and
it’s important to learn these. The only way to truly
get to grips with this is to try out lots of
compressors, and what you’ll find is that designs
that work well on an individual sound, such as an
FET (Urei 1176 for example), may not be best suited
to the mix bus.
In the walkthrough, we’ve used the most popular
and most widely copied VCA design, based on
SSL’s bus compressor. It’s purpose-built for the job,
but certainly not the only option, and designs The API 2500 bus compressor, Slate Digital FG-Red and FG-MU

based on API’s 2500 Bus Compressor or Focusrite’s

Red 3 Dual Compressor Limiter are also fantastic. distortions they impart. So, if you find that a valve-
Indeed, if you scratch the surface, you’ll find that based or opto compressor with minimal gain
mix bus compressors are often selected for reduction lifts your mix in unexpected ways, you
additional reasons, such as the pleasing harmonic might be exploiting other aspects of its design.

RECOMMENDED
LISTENING

DAFT PUNK
AROUND THE WORLD
Here’s just one example
of where this sampling
duo take mixing ‘into’
the compressor to all-
new extremes.
tiny.cc/dp_around

SWITCH DISCO
REACT (featuring
Ella Henderson and
Robert Miles)
Mix bus compression
plays an important and
audible role in this
contemporary mix.
tiny.cc/sd_react
Casey Flanigan/FilmMagic

Daft Punk’s Around The

World was an opus in the
dark compression arts

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 51

> cover feature / linux in the studio
Wound up with Windows? None too ’appy
with Apple? An alternative exists, and it
promises to be a potential paradise for all
things music production. Let’s investigate…
Words: Stuart Adams
Picture the scene: You’re in your
studio, the creative juices flowing
liberally and freely, working on
what is sure to be the most
important moment in the history of music since
John turned to Paul and said “D’you fancy
forming a band, mate?”. You’re in the zone. Every
note a symphony, every EQ adjustment,
compressor tweak and fader move a perfectly
judged masterstroke. And then it happens:
“Windows will now restart to install updates.”
The situation is little better with macOS. It
may not be quite so insistent on installing
updates whenever it feels like it, but Apple’s
treadmill of incessant OS version updates can
often leave mission-critical hardware, software
and workflows broken and non-functional.
Particularily if you’re a user of the older end of
the software world.
With every update, the walls of Apple’s and
Microsoft’s ‘walled gardens’ grow higher. Sure,
Microsoft’s ankle-high bordering comes in stark
contrast to the towering edifices surrounding
Apple’s plot, but it, seemingly, also envies and
admires those walls, and is slowly raising its own
by way of response.
52 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
Windows and macOS run many background
tasks that may be entirely irrelevant to how you
use your computer, or be tasks you actively do
not want running – snooping and analytics, for
example. This stuff gobbles up the raw
computing power you paid for when buying
the machine, yet even if you disable
unwanted features, they’ll invariably be
re-enabled by the next OS update.
In short, your right to choose your
computer’s software, hardware,
features, workflows and update
cycles has been lost. But what to do?
The only potential alternative is
Linux. As a general purpose OS for
web, email, document writing and
such, there’s nowadays little to
choose between Linux and
the ‘Big Two’. But what
about music production?
Does Linux yet have the
hardware and software
support that would
make it a good fit in
the studio? The short
answer is “yes”…
linux in the studio / cover feature <

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 53

> cover feature / linux in the studio
What is Linux?
Get to know some of the key Linux lingo, and the flexible
‘kernel’ at its core
The first thing to understand
about Linux is that there is no
single Linux operating system but
rather a Linux kernel that’s used
as the core of many different operating systems.
(A kernel is the core code of an OS that’s loaded
into memory and run when the system boots.)
The Linux kernel is free and open-source
software, aka “FOSS”. This means that anybody
can use the kernel without paying a fee, and
that anybody can view the source code, search
it for bugs and vulnerabilities, make their own
modifications, and submit code changes to be
considered for inclusion in the official kernel.
Unless you are a developer, though, the
Linux kernel on its own is not very useful. To
become useful it needs to be wrapped up with
54 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
system software, tools and applications – in
other words it needs to be built into a full
operating system.
Distros, desktops and repos
An OS built on the Linux kernel is known as a
Linux ‘distro’, short for distribution. There are
many distros kicking about, and whilst some
include proprietary code and so aren’t FOSS,
many are developed by communities of
developers and remain free to use and fully
open source. Therefore, as with the kernel, you
can view and modify the source code, make
contributions, or even ‘fork’ the code to adapt
into your own operating system. Indeed, many
distros are themselves based on another distro,
which itself is likely based on yet another distro.
Linux is very flexible when it comes to GUIs,
or desktop environments. There’s a wide choice
available, from those that are very light on the
hardware through to examples that lean heavily
on it. You can even use Linux with just a
command line and no GUI at all.
The desktop environment goes deeper than
just the visuals, impacting many aspects of how
system and user interact. Choice of desktop is
largely down to personal taste and the
capabilities of your hardware, then, but be
aware that some apps rely on particular
desktop environments, and whilst this can
usually be worked around, such fixes can still
result in visual bugs.
Linux distros typically handle software via a
package manager; monolithic installers as used
 linux in the studio / cover feature <

by Windows and macOS aren’t the norm. The

package manager stores a list of online software
repositories, or ‘repos’ for short, and accesses
these to download software and find updates.
The system is intelligent, identifying additional
software components – or ‘dependencies’ –
needed by the software and installing/updating
these automatically.

Breaking through
Linux experts and enthusiasts often hail the
imminent arrival of “the year of Linux on the
desktop”. This reflects a belief – or hope – that
Linux is on the verge of a tipping point into wide-
ranging adoption across the desktops of the
world. This belief has so far proved to be wrong,
and for one key reason: users are unlikely to
want to adopt an OS unless the software they
wish to use is available for that OS, but
developers will not develop software for an OS
unless there are sufficient users of that OS to
make it financially worthwhile.
This vicious circle keeps both consumers and

Choosing a distro
developers locked into the effective duopoly of
Windows and macOS, and is the fundamental
reason why there is no Linux-compatible version
of, for example, Cubase… or not yet anyway,
because the picture is changing.
Linux-compatible alternatives to widely used
A solid basis for any Linux system is
creativity apps are getting better all of the time,
and many are now ported to the Big Two, Debian thanks to it being long-
breaking down OS-specific lock-in by winning
over new users. More importantly, an increasing established and well supported. Debian
number of Linux-compatible versions of
premium apps are being released too, bringing
the fabled year of Linux that bit closer.
isn’t exactly a general purpose OS, but it
can be configured as such. You could do
The inherent this yourself, but it is less kerfuffle to just
efficiency of install a general purpose distro that’s
Linux can breathe based on Debian; a good choice here
new life into would be Ubuntu or an OS based on it,
old hardware such as the very efficient Mint. Add
software from a repo such as KXStudio,
Inherently virtuous which contains a stack of DAWs, plugins,
One nice thing about Linux is that it can run
from a USB memory stick, making it really easy
to try out, but when you’re ready for a more
instruments and other music tools, and
permanent installation you have a few options.
You can, of course, buy a completely new
you’re all set.
computer, sans pre-installed Windows. However,
the inherent efficiency of Linux can breathe new
But this is the world of Linux, so there
life into old hardware, so that old laptop lurking
at the back of the cupboard could be ideal. are distros out there that bring these
It’s also possible to create a dual boot system
on either a Windows PC or an Intel Mac (aged elements together for you. One such is
PowerPC Macs struggle with modern apps and
desktop environments, while Apple Silicon Macs
can’t boot to anything other than macOS… those
Ubuntu Studio, an official member of the
garden walls again!). Take great care if going
down this route, being sure to have full backups.
Ubuntu family designed especially for all
A further option would be to run a Linux
distro in a virtual machine, using something like
areas of creative work. It’s our preferred
DOSBox or VMWare. This can work just fine but
a VM’d Linux may not play nicely with your music-making Linux distro and the one
audio hardware – there’s nothing lost by trying it
out though! we’re using throughout this feature.
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 55
> cover feature / linux in the studio
> Step by step 1. Testing and installing Ubuntu Studio
1 2
Head to www.ubuntustudio.org and
download the most recent version
marked ‘LTS’ (ie Long Term Support,
meaning updates will be available for a
decent period). This distro has modest
minimum system requirements, but if
your hardware is very old you can use the
page to hunt older versions of the OS, or
ones that use a more lightweight desktop.
4 5
The first screen you’ll see is the GRUB
bootloader screen, a bootloader being
a tool that launches an OS. Select ‘Try or
Install Ubuntu Studio’ and hit enter. Once
the OS starts, you can have a look around
and launch a few apps. As you can see,
things work intuitively, and the OS
includes all sorts of creative software.
7 8
The remaining screens are where you
set up your user details and confirm
settings. Once satisfied, click ‘Install’ then
the installer will show some useful info
while it runs. Restart the machine once
done, being sure to remove the USB stick
when prompted. All being well, you should
soon be presented with a login screen.
56 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
3
The ISO file you have downloaded has
to be cloned to a USB memory stick
(min. 12GB) in order to use it. A good cross-
platform tool for doing this is
balenaEtcher [etcher.balena.io]. Within
balenaEtcher, click ‘Flash from file’ and
then select the ISO file when prompted.
Attach your USB stick, use ‘Select Target’
to select it, then click ‘Flash!’.
6
When ready for the installation, launch
the ‘Install Ubuntu Studio’ shortcut
located on the desktop. Begin working
through the installer’s screens, setting
language, location and keyboard options.
At the Partitions page, choose the disk
where you want to install Ubuntu Studio
via the menu at the top of the page.
9
The first task after logging in is to
update everything to the latest
versions. Open the Application Launcher,
mouse-over the ‘System’ group then click
‘Discover’. Select the ‘Update’ option in
Discover’s sidebar then click ‘Refresh’.
Once the list is fully populated, ensure all
options are ticked then click ‘Update All’.
Connect the USB stick to the computer
on which you plan to install Ubuntu
Studio. On Mac hardware, hold the Option
key whilst powering up the computer then
select the USB stick as the startup disk
when prompted. On PC you will need to
boot into the computer’s BIOS or UEFI
screen, set the USB stick as the first boot
device and then restart.
If you’re installing to bare hardware, or
are happy to irrevocably delete any
existing OS and/or data, select ‘Erase disk’
and ‘Next’. To set up a dual boot with
another OS, manually configure partitions,
or do anything other than fully overwrite
the disk, refer to the Ubuntu support wiki:
help.ubuntu.com/community/DualBoot
Restart after the update, then reopen
Discover and check updates have
been applied; repeat the update process if
not. Once all updates are installed, and no
more are showing in Discover, familiarise
yourself with your new OS: the Application
Launcher, Discover, the System Settings
app, and the Dolphin file browser.

Linux audio
systems
Let’s dig deeper on the systems that give
Linux music-making features an edge
ALSA
The Advanced Linux Sound
Architecture – ALSA for short – is
the base level audio system built
into the Linux kernel. It is ALSA’s job to
communicate with the sound hardware, to
which end it provides an API (Application
Programming Interface) that can be used to
write audio and MIDI hardware drivers. Coding a
driver from scratch isn’t a job for a layperson,
but ALSA only really cares about the underlying
audio chipset used by the soundcard/interface,
and so sometimes all that’s required are some
basic modifications to an existing driver that
targets the same chipset.
ALSA drivers exist for most consumer-grade
soundcards, ie those built into computer
motherboards and inexpensive peripherals.
Things aren’t so ubiquitous when it comes to
specialised studio-grade audio hardware: there
are drivers for a range of older cards and
interfaces, but few for modern devices.
The good news is that ALSA fully supports
USB audio and MIDI class compliance standards.
As a result, if you use a USB audio and/or MIDI
interface that is class compliant – and most
linux in the studio / cover feature <
modern examples are – then it should work just
fine with ALSA.
Audio servers
The default method by which applications
communicate with ALSA depends on the distro,
but most use either PulseAudio or the more
modern PipeWire. These are referred to as
audio or sound servers as their job is to route
The learning curve is no
more complex to get to grips
with than any other platform
audio streams within the system and to-and-
from the hardware being managed by ALSA.
Systems like PulseAudio and PipeWire aren’t
designed to deliver the low I/O latencies and
high sample rates needed for music production.
Some audio software gets around this by
providing an option to connect directly to ALSA,
but this then prevents any other app from using
the same hardware at the same time, and
removes the ability to route signals to and from
other apps and nodes in the system.
You don’t know jack!
Enter the JACK audio server (‘JACK’ being a
recursive acronym for JACK Audio Connection
Kit). JACK performs a similar task to PulseAudio
and PipeWire, routing audio and MIDI signals
within the system but, crucially, it is low latency
and supports high sample rates. Most modern
Linux audio apps support JACK (some, such as
Bitwig Studio, demand it) but if you need to
work with non-JACK software it’s no problem:
you can connect PulseAudio/PipeWire with
JACK so that their streams are handled as just
another node in the system.
JACK itself is a command line tool, but
happily there are a few GUI-based apps for
configuring and controlling it, like QjackCtl,
Cadence and, in Ubuntu Studio, Studio Controls.
Routing signals is managed separately, and,
again, there are GUI-based apps for this, popular
examples being Carla, Catia or Patchage.
DAW as an OS, or OS
as a DAW?
Music making on Windows and macOS has
coalesced towards a paradigm that sees almost
everything happen within the DAW. The DAW
deals with the inputs, outputs, plugins,
instruments – the lot. In many ways it’s as
though the DAW were a music-making
operating system sitting atop a host OS.
JACK on Linux changes this paradigm, turning
your computer into the ultimate modular DAW.
You can, for example, load up a drum machine, a
pattern sequencer and a few synths, hook up
some controllers, then use JACK to provide the
central transport, processing and routing hub.
You can also access the individual tracks and
busses within apps (including video editors), as
well as route audio and MIDI signals to/from
other computers via the network. You can still
work exclusively within a DAW app, but you
aren’t restricted to doing so.
Not rocket science
By exposing so many of its nuts and bolts to the
user, Linux audio systems can appear
complicated at first glance. In reality, the
learning curve is shallow, and is little different to
the curve you’d experience switching between
Windows and macOS. And if considering
building your first ever music production
system around Linux, it will prove no more
complicated to get to grips with
than any other platform.
Naturally there are fine details
that can be very specific to the
blend of distro, hardware and
software being used, and we
can’t cover every combination
here, but there are many
excellent sources of information
and guidance that are just a web
search away. Good places to start are the wikis
hosted by www.linuxaudio.org, www.alsa-
project.org and www.ubuntustudio.org, whilst
jackaudio.org is the place to go to learn more
about JACK. And if you ever come up against a
problem that you can’t solve there are many
forums and discussion boards frequented by a
community of users, all eager to help.
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 57
> cover feature / linux in the studio

Terrified by > Step by step 2. Installing software

the terminal?
Modern Linux desktop
environments include many
interactive graphic tools that make
working with the OS as easy as
with Windows or macOS. We’re
talking file browser apps, settings
panels, and the like. Despite the
presence of such tools, there
remain a number of common

1
There are a few different ways that software is installed to Linux.
tasks that are most often The easiest is via the software manager app – in Ubuntu Studio this
is the Discover app we used in the previous tutorial. Open Discover (or
performed in the command line your distro’s software manager) and navigate to its
terminal. Users of macOS should Applications>Multimedia (or similar) section. Browse for an interesting-
looking app to install.
be on familiar ground here as the
terminal is a component of the
Unix-like origins of both macOS
and Linux, and so it’s almost
identical on both platforms, even
sharing many commands.
Command line interfaces like the
terminal are admittedly a bit
tedious to use, but they’re easy
enough once you get the hang of
things. Most instructions start with
a command – “cd” for example,
2
Once you’ve found something you want to try, click its Install
button – we’re going to check out Mixx DJ Software. You’ll be asked
which navigates to a folder – and to enter your user password, then the software will be automatically
installed. If you later wish to uninstall the software (or any other apps
are followed by one or more managed via the software manager) just find the app’s entry and click
the Remove button.
switches and/or parameters, for
example the name of the folder
you wish to navigate to. Simple.

3
Next, download and install an app manually. Reaper works great
on Linux, so head to www.reaper.fm, go to Downloads and grab the
Linux version; most people need the default x86_64 version. When
complete, use your file browser (‘Dolphin’ in Ubuntu Studio) to view
the downloaded file – it should be in the default Downloads folder.

58 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024

 linux in the studio / cover feature <
4 5
Linux software downloads often come as TAR archive files, and
such archives are referred to as ‘tarballs’. A tarball has to be
unpacked before it can be used. The easiest way to do this is directly in
your file browser, where you can right-click on the tarball and select
‘Extract > Extract archive here’. Do this with the Reaper tarball.
6 7
The installation script’s name is shown in the list: “install-reaper.sh”.
To execute it, we type [./] directly followed by the name. The
Reaper installer will launch and ask you to choose various settings.
Work through the options, enter your password if requested and, once
done, Reaper will be ready to launch – go ahead and fire it up to check
it works.
8 9
In your web browser, use KX Studio’s Software listings to find an
app or plugin you would like to install (note that, if using Ubuntu
Studio, some will be pre-installed). Once you’ve identified an app/
plugin, make a note of the package name that’s shown – we’re going to
install the Dragonfly Reverb plugins, so the package name is
‘dragonfly-reverb’.
Reaper can run as-is from the extracted folder, but it’s best to run
the included installation script that places files properly and
creates menu shortcuts. Open the extracted folder then right-click in
an empty space and select ‘Open Terminal’. The command line should
show the current folder name (the [~] means “user’s folder”). Type
[ls -l] and hit enter to list the folder contents.
(The remaining steps require a Debian- or Ubuntu-based distro).
Open a web browser and head to kx.studio/Repositories. Locate
the link for kxstudio-repos.deb and download the file. Go to your file
browser, locate the downloaded file, and double-click it. Select ‘Install
Package’ in the popup that opens. This adds the KX Studio repos to
your OS’s package manager.
Open the terminal (‘Konsole’ in Ubuntu Studio). Type
[sudo apt-get install] followed by the package name and hit
enter. [sudo] tells terminal to run the subsequent command as a
system user, so you will be asked for your password. The package
manager will look up details and ask if you wish to proceed. Hit Y to
continue when prompted… and that’s it. Easy.
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 59
> cover feature / linux in the studio
Linux DAWs
and apps
With many creative developers embracing
the format, there’s plenty of fun to be had
A quick browse through a Linux
OS’s software manager shows
there’s no shortage of Linux
music-making apps, and no
shortage of apps in general –
there’s some very cool stuff to play with, and it’s
all free! There is some chaff too – projects
whose developers and maintainers lost interest,
or that never reach a stable release stage, and
some that just aren’t very good. But there are
some true gems too, and invariably you will find
FOSS options that can take the place of the
proprietary closed-source apps found on the
Big Two.
Modern development tools and practices
mean that compiling the same source code for
different operating systems is much easier than
it once was, and consequently many of these
FOSS apps are also available for Windows and
macOS. This means you can try them out
without needing to set up a Linux system, or
just use them as free alternatives to premium
production software.
Linux does not limit you to using free DAWs
and audio tools; there is an increasing amount
of premium commercial music software hitting
the platform too. Bitwig, Reaper and Waveform
are notable examples of DAWs that have native
Linux versions, and some developers of
premium plugins, such as u-he, offer Linux-
native versions of their effects and instruments.
60 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
Linux plugin formats
There are a number of different plugin formats
that can be used in Linux. The oldest is LADSPA
(Linux Audio Developers Simple Plugin API) and
most – if not all – Linux DAWs and host apps
support the format (as do some Windows- and
macOS-based hosts). There’s a vast choice of
free LADSPA plugins to choose from, and while
they’re intended primarily for audio effects and
filters, there are some instruments that use the
format too.
There is an increasing
amount of premium
commercial music software
that’s hitting the platform
The DSSI (Disposable Soft Synth Interface,
pronounced “Dizzy”) format extends LADSPA to
make it better suited to plugin instruments.
Finally, the most up-to-date format, and the one
that nearly all modern Linux plugins are written
in, is LV2 – you’ll find reams of these online.
Just as in Windows and macOS, the plugins
you use have to be compatible with the host
application you’re working with. Thanks to
JACK, though, if your DAW, or any other app,
can’t work directly with a particular plugin then
you can host it in Carla, which supports every
Linux plugin format (and more), and simply
route audio through it.
Linux VSTs
VST – or Virtual Studio Technology – was
originally developed by Steinberg as an audio
plugin API for Cubase, and because it wanted
third-party developers to create plugins that
would extend and showcase Cubase’s
capabilities, it ensured the standard and SDK
(Software Development Kit) were license-free.
This quickly established VST as the standard for
audio plugins, and it has remained so through its
VST2 and VST3 advancements.
The open nature of the standard means that
it’s supported on Linux as well, but a VST
plugin’s source code has to be compiled for
Linux. Such a plugin is known as a LinuxVST.
Wine
Wine is a commonly used Linux tool that allows
Windows applications to run on Linux. It isn’t a
virtual machine or emulator, but rather a
translation layer that converts Windows API
calls into POSIX (Portable Operating System
Interface) commands and vice versa, thereby
allowing Windows applications to run smoothly
and efficiently within a Linux (or other POSIX-
compliant) OS. This ability extends to Windows
VST plugins.
Wine isn’t a magic bullet and won’t work with
everything, especially apps and plugins that
employ advanced licence control mechanisms.
It can be finicky to configure and use too, and it
requires a host that can work with Windows
VSTs, such as Carla or Ardour. Moreover, Wine’s
usefulness in a music production environment is
slowly diminishing as Linux enjoys ever-growing
support from premium software and plugin
development houses.
Is it the year of Linux in
the studio?
It’s true that few of the premium products that
you read about in these very pages each month
will run natively on Linux, and this can be off-
putting. But in the absence of big name
competition, Linux’s community of smart,
industrious developers have assembled a host
of alternatives, many of which
are comparable to their premium
equivalents in every way other
than cost. Once you add JACK
into the mix, it’s hard to argue
with the view that not only is
Linux ready for the studio, it’s in
some ways more ready than
Windows or macOS.
Maybe it’s a stretch to hope
2024 will be the year of Linux in
music. However, if you’re a
newcomer seeking a powerful
but inexpensive studio solution, want to level-up
a modest setup without huge expense, an
experienced producer who’s sick of the
Windows/macOS hegemony, or just an
inquisitive soul who likes to try new things, then
perhaps it’s time to give it a try in your studio?

> Step by step 3. Working with JACK and Carla
1 2
The first thing to do before starting a
music-making session in Linux is to
ensure JACK is configured and running.
We’ll be using Ubuntu Studio’s Studio
Control app for this. If using another distro
then look for or install QjackCtl or
Cadence. Our instructions will translate to
these other apps, although you may find
you have to hunt out the controls and
settings we discuss.
4 5
Studio Controls allows us to define
both non-USB and USB master
devices, the latter taking precedence if
and when connected. If using a non-USB
interface then select it in the first
dropdown, otherwise select your
computer’s built in sound hardware here.
If using a USB interface, select it in the
second dropdown menu. Leave all
remaining settings as they are.
7 8
Click the Add Plugin button. In the
plugin browser, use the Type filter to
show only instruments. Choose an
instrument – we went for MDA ePiano –
and click the ‘Add Plugin’ button to add it
to the rack. Repeat the process, this time
filtering for Effects, and add a reverb –
we’ve gone with Dragonfly Plate, which
we installed in the previous tutorial.
linux in the studio / cover feature <
3
Take a look at the settings on Studio
Controls’ first tab. The panel provides
a clear explanation of the settings on offer
so make your choices then switch to the
JACK Master Settings tab. If your audio
interface has built in MIDI ports enable the
‘Bridge ALSA to JACK MIDI’ option. Set the
JACK Backend option to ‘ALSA’.
6
Switch to the Extra Devices tab. Use
the ‘Select Device to Edit’ dropdown to
select your low latency audio interface or
soundcard, then enter the hardware’s
input and output count in the Capture Port
Count and Playback Port Count fields
(respectively). Configure the interface’s
sample rate and buffers – for best
performance they should match JACK’s
global settings.
9
Switch to the Patchbay tab; note that
audio and CV connections are blue
and event (ie MIDI) connections red. Link
your audio interface’s MIDI capture port
(or other MIDI capture device) to the
plugin instrument’s Events-In port.
Connect the instrument’s outputs to the
reverb’s inputs, and the reverb’s outputs to
the main system playback output pair.
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 61
Set the master JACK sample rate,
buffer size and periods values. These
determine how JACK communicates with
the ALSA system, so what you set here will
effectively override any settings given to
individual devices (see step 5). Note that
the periods value controls the number of
buffers, effectively multiplying the raw
latency of the selected buffer size – keep it
at 2 if possible.
The remaining settings are not
important for the time being, so click
the ‘Apply Audio Settings’ button then wait
while JACK restarts and rebuilds its
connections. When the JACK status reads
‘Running’ once more, click the ‘Open Carla’
button. When Carla launches, you will find
you’re presented with an empty rack. (You
can install Carla from the KX Studio repo if
needed.)
Return to the Rack view and start
playing. Adjust settings directly in the
rack using the basic knob-based controls,
or click the cog icon next to a plugin’s
power button to open its GUI (if it has one).
Launch a standalone instrument
(Hydrogen drum machine, say) and hook
it up using Carla’s Patchbay. Don’t forget
to save your Carla patch!
> cover feature / linux in the studio
SOFTWARE ROUNDUP
Linux DAWs
ARDOUR
Ardour includes all of the
features you’d expect from a
pro-grade audio workstation –
recording, editing, routing,
mixing, effects, instruments, automation
and the rest. It comes in an interface that
will feel familiar to anybody who’s
worked with DAWs like Cubase and Pro
Tools; easy to learn for newcomers. It’s
somewhat unbelievable that this stable,
powerful and professional DAW is FOSS!
https://ardour.org/
62 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
BITWIG STUDIO
Supporting both linear and
non-linear arrangements within
the same tracks, and with a
vast array of in-built processors,
instruments and tools, Bitwig Studio
contains everything you need to create
your latest masterpiece. The DAW is not
FOSS, of course, and so licences must be
purchased, but Bitwig has to be praised
for releasing a Linux-native version of
this mind-blowing creative toolbox.
www.bitwig.com
>
WAVEFORM 12 FREE / PRO
The original Tracktion DAW, released
back in 2001, spent time under the
ownership of Mackie before returning to
the original creator, Julian Storer. Since then,
Tracktion has morphed into the pro-grade DAW
Waveform. The latest iteration, Waveform 12, is
available in both Free and Pro editions. It runs
well on a standard Ubuntu installation, but we
struggled to get it going in Ubuntu Studio (due to
a fixable desktop environment mismatch).
www.tracktion.com

LMMS
If you like making music in a
fruitier fashion, then LMMS is
for you. Much like premium
DAWs such as FL Studio, LMMS
is heavily centred around creating and
layering loops and musical patterns, and
comes with its own collection of
instruments, effects and audio content.
LMMS supports standard plugin formats,
is fully open-source, and is also available
for Windows and macOS.
www.lmms.io
linux in the studio / cover feature <
REAPER
There are two ways to get this
popular and widely used DAW
running in Linux. The easiest is
to install the Linux-native
version (see p58), but the Windows
version of Reaper also runs well via Wine.
Whichever method you choose, what
you end up with is the same: a slick,
professional and highly capable DAW.
Reaper is not FOSS but is attractively
priced and worth every penny.
www.reaper.fm
>
RENOISE
Trackers, which were popular during the
days of the Atari ST and Amiga, are a
particular branch of sequencer, designed
to create patterns by triggering short samples
and loops. Renoise brings this classic approach
right up to date, combining a classic tracker
interface with a modern sampling, automation
and mixing environment. If you don’t need the
full DAW then there’s also Redux, a combined
sampler and tracker in plugin format.
www.renoise.com
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 63
> cover feature / linux in the studio
SOFTWARE ROUNDUP
Linux instruments and effects
> >
DECENT SAMPLER
Fans of Venus Theory’s YouTube channel
will know of Decent Sampler. This free
sample player has a standalone app as
well as Linux-native VST/VST3 plugins, and is
similar to Kontakt Player. It links to an ever-
growing library of pro-level instruments,
including many produced by Venus Theory.
www.decentsamples.com
> >
SAMPLV1
Love the immediacy of old-school
sampling? This plugin could be for you.
The classic sample playback engine hosts
just one sample at a time, so there’s no getting
bogged down in key groups and velocity layers.
The sample is fed into a set of standard synthesis
modules before going to an effects section.
https://samplv1.sourceforge.io
64 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024
LSP
The Linux Studio Plugins package – LSP
for short – is a large collection of effects,
processors and meters supplied in every
Linux-native format (including standalone
versions that can be used directly in JACK). The
plugins are excellent, offer many high-end
features, and all feature attractive GUIs.
www.lsp-plug.in
U-HE PLUGINS
We love u-he’s collection of high-end
synths and effects, from original creations
such as Hive, to modelled classics like
Repro. We also love its free plugins and, of
course, its CM-exclusive range. What we love
even more is that all of u-he’s instruments and
effects are available as Linux-native plugins.
www.u-he.com
 linux in the studio / cover feature <
VITAL
With three powerful
wavetable oscillators,
dual filters, and many
modulation sources that are
super-easy to route to
destinations, Vital is one of our
favourite synths. It’s similar in
many ways to XFer Serum,
including the inclusion of tools
to help build custom
wavetables. Where it differs,
though, is in pricing – there’s a
free edition, a $25 Plus edition,
and $80 Pro edition – and the
fact that it includes native
Linux support. Vital indeed!
www.vital.audio
Other tools
>
AUDACITY
Audacity is a long-established cross-platform
audio capture, editing and processing app. As
well as wave editing, Audacity offers
multitrack recording and mixing capabilities, although
its limited capabilities in this area mean that it isn’t
exactly a DAW in the classic sense of the term.
Nevertheless, Audacity is an invaluable component in
any music-making setup, ideal for capturing
performances, preparing samples, and many other
common studio tasks.
www.audacityteam.org
>
CARLA
We’ve already talked here about Carla, but its
capabilities deserve a bit more attention. Carla
is a plugin host that integrates tightly with the
JACK system. It supports every imaginable plugin
format, including both LinuxVSTs and, with Wine
installed, Windows VSTs. It’s excellent for use on stage
as a live instrument and FX host, whilst its integrated
patching and transport controls make it the perfect
hub when creating music too.
https://kx.studio
>
VCV RACK 2
If you have ever wanted to get into modular
synthesis but worry about having the space or
money, then VCV Rack 2 is for you. VCV runs as
a standalone application but can expose its audio,
MIDI and CV ports via JACK, making it easy to patch in
to the rest of your studio. Hundreds of professionally
produced modules are available within the free
edition, with even more being available if you buy a
Pro licence.
www.vcvrack.com
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 65
 MUSIC PRODUCER’S
GUIDE TO ABLETON LIVE

ON SALE
NOW
 reviews <

The latest computer music gear tested and rated!

Our promise
We bring you honest, unbiased
appraisals of the latest computer
music products. Our experts apply
the same stringent testing methods
to all gear, no matter how much
hype or expectation surrounds it.

What the
ratings mean
1-4 A seriously flawed product
that should be avoided
5 This product’s problems
outweigh its merits

68 SONIC CHARGE 6 A decent product that’s only

held back by a few flaws
SYNPLANT 2 7 Solid. Well worth considering

Sonic Charge have spruced up 8 Very good. A well-conceived

and executed product
the imaginative softsynth ready 9 Excellent. First-rate and
for the 2020s. But did the apple among the best you can buy

fall far enough from the tree? 10 Exceptional. It just doesn’t get
any better than this!

70 72
Soundiron Baby Audio
Quadral 3 Transit

74 76 78
Austrian Audio Solid State Logic Soundware
MiCreator Studio G3 MultiBusComp

Awarded to products A product has to really If the product In the opinion of the
that challenge existing impress us with its exceeds expectations Editor, the best product
ideas and do something functionality and for its price, it will reviewed in the
entirely new features to win this one receive this gong magazine this month

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 67

> reviews / sonic charge synplant 2

PRESET CONTROLS GROW YOUR BRANCH

This is for saving and Drag the branches of your
loading (from external Synplant out from the centre
folders on occasion), to change a timbre, just like
plus the preset in v1
drop‑down menu

MAIN PARAMETERS
These sliders are
similar to v1 but control
ATONALITY
more main options
Set lower for more
including tuning,
musical results; set it
effects and envelope
higher to introduce
more atonality and
pitch effects

MODES PART 2
MODES PART 1 The fourth Ranges
There are four main Mode (as shown) has
modes: Standard has the different ranges of
UI set as v1; Velocity plays notes playing one sound
a different note and
timbre depending on
velocity; and Layered MOD WHEEL RING
allows you to play selected Drag this in and out,
branches together to control the Mod
Wheel parameter, but
it generally causes all
PLAY MODES branches to grow
Polyphonic and monophonic simultaneously
play modes with portamento
EDITOR’S CHOICE

Sonic Charge
Synplant 2 $149
The original Synplant was the most unusual and original softsynth of the
2000s. Does its successor still shake the tree? Andy Jones branches out
Leave your expectations at the door and let innovation and – dammit – frustration in it than grow a branch, so timbres change. Find a sound
Synplant draw you into its weird and everything else we’ve reviewed this year (this you like – often more by luck than judgement
wonderful world and show you how to do things decade, even). Is it worth the hype? Yes, and it’s – and you can save it as a preset and get all
differently. The first version was massively likely the best softsynth of the year – but it’s not the notes around it to play the same timbre.
bonkers back in 2009, with the idea of creating quite the most synsational plugin of the century. That same principle – which we described as
evolving sounds by growing branches from a Not yet, anyway. “engaging, and, most of all, inspirational” for v1
seed – yes, really. But Synplant 2 takes the seed – still applies to v2, and there are many other
of that idea (yes, we did put some thought into Growing into v2 visual aspects the two share (some sliders
that sentence) and grows it up a few hundred The new Synplant shares some of the DNA with around the central circle, for example). But other
walls. It’s like they threw Synplant 1 into some its predecessor. There is still the same central than that, Synplant 2 is all-new, with its audio
heavily fertilised (or drugged) soil and irradiated seed from which you grow branches, each one engine and algorithms rewritten from the
it with the suns of a far off galaxy to come up extending into one of 12 slots representing (in ground up. That’s maybe because the problem
with Synplant 2, for it has more ambition, Standard mode) the notes of an octave. As you with Synplant 1 was that, as much as we loved

68 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024


The lo-fi effects are
welcome additions,
offering mechanical
tape noise for your ‘too
clean’ surroundings
the concept and marvelled at its branches and
sonic ambition, we didn’t really use it much
after we reviewed it.
Synplant 2 has more purpose, then, and more
power. Everything bar the actual ‘plant’ has
changed, like they’ve taken the engine out of
an old Ford and replaced it with that of a Ferrari,
and a Ferrari that ‘knows’ things because, you
guessed it, there’s machine learning in them
there Synplant hills.
Genopatch is the big Synplant talking point
utilising that AI to recreate sounds. Add any
audio file and Synplant attempts to replicate
the sound with its synth engine and produce
variations of it, some similar, some wildly
different. It’s great for sound design as you are
effectively creating a number of new sounds
from a single source. You can then use these
as sounds within Synplant and even edit them
with its different parameters. It works best with
simple sounds and is processor intensive – we
did notice our Air M2 getting hot very quickly.
It doesn’t seem to create particularly accurate
versions of the sounds we put in, so perhaps
should be considered as another way of
synthesising different sounds rather than
recreating something we already have.
An evolution of a species
Like v1, Synplant is trying and largely succeeding
in doing something totally different from an
ocean of wavetable, VA and emulation synths.
The Genopatch sample-to-patch idea is
gloriously ambitious, and while it might not
succeed on all levels, its brazen intentions must
be applauded, as should the very AI algorithms
behind it and Synplant itself – this thing does
things like no other synths.
But while Synplant reaches for the skies in
the most important areas, we do have a few
quibbles. The effects, such as they are, feel like
an afterthought. And the preset folder handling
feels a little archaic, so that’s a couple of areas
for an update to sort out.
As a sound design tool, though, Synplant 2
has utterly limitless potential. You might not
understand how you are creating a sound, nor
the algorithms behind Genopatch’s attempts
at mimicking them, but the fact that Synplant is
pushing into new areas, breaking all the rules
and the sonic sound barriers, is worthy of more
praise than we can heap upon any plugin.
Not a 10/10, then, but Synplant 2 is certainly
branching out into more and different areas
than most. Will you use it as a synth to create
all your tunes? Possibly not, but you absolutely
would and should use it to create the most
interesting sounds for them.
Web www.soniccharge.com
sonic charge synplant 2 / reviews <
The DNA editor
There’s a new DNA editor in Synplant 2
which gives you a more visual overview
of the innards of Synplant. It reveals the
parameters, all of which are MIDI
mappable so can be automated (the
synth is also MPE compatible). The
editor is not quite as difficult to use as
you might initially think. It shows the
sounds as sets of parameters on a DNA
helix. Click on the top third and you can
access parameters for envelopes and
LFO, with dials for the various options
corresponding to highlighted circles
Genopatch takes any sound from the outside world (the
sample shown at the bottom of the window) and tries to
recreate it using Synplant’s variation of VA synthesis. As
it does, branches and variations appear moving up the
screen. It’s weird and quite wonderful
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 69
The new DNA editor
has many of the
parameters of
Synplant’s largely
VA-style of synthesis
engine on display in
three sections, all
shown on a DNA
helix. As you do
within the helix. Click on the central
part of the helix and you reveal the
oscillator parameters, all adjustable
with graphic displays altering as you
dial parameters. Click the bottom
and it opens up the filter and effect
parameters. The filter response curve
is easily editable, with half a dozen
parameters, although the effects
– saturation, reverb, EQ and chorus –
are a little limited. However using the
new DNA editor is a great way to see
how Synplant works and automate it.
Alternatively
BLEASS Megalit
€99
There’s nothing like Synplant so
here’s a great synth for sound
design instead!
Devious Machines Infiltrator 2
£99
Similarly, with 54 effects modules,
this is a hugely creative tool
Verdict
For Still bonkers and brilliant
Amazing sound design tool
Genopatch is genius (if not always
successful) at what it does
So much ambition to be applauded
Against Effects are an afterthought
Preset browsing could be better
Despite one or two technical drawbacks,
Synplant 2 has more ambition and sonic
scope than just about every other plugin
out there
9/10
 > reviews / soundiron quadral 3

FILTER ARPEGGIATOR LAYER TOP

There are loads of different filter types to choose The Arp has five main modes The top part of each
from (around a dozen) and eight different sources, and 15 directional combinations layer lets you choose from
all triggering filter and resonance up to 32 steps to choose between up to 16 synth categories

MACROS
Up to four
dials can be LAYER
assigned to BOTTOM
any of the After you’ve
layers, the chosen
FX rack your synth
and their category,
parameters select one of
to control 24 different
them by alternatives
MIDI within that

ENVELOPES MAIN X-Y DISPLAY OTHER OPTIONS

Choose how your sound impacts and Automatically moves up These four options let you add
releases with these four controls and down dependent vibrato and edit the pitch, pan
on the macro selected and stereo width of each of
the four layers

Soundiron
Quadral 3 $59
One of the most feature- and movement-packed Kontakt instruments
around, this packs a big electronic punch for its price, says Andy Jones
Over the last decade, Soundiron has built up Made for Kontakt between these four sounds. First, though, you
an impressive range of virtual instruments You’ll need the full version of Kontakt to run select your base sounds for each layer.
and sample libraries aimed at music producers, Quadral 3, but it’s an easy setup via Soundiron’s Choose from 16 groups of synth categories
classical musicians and film/TV/videogame installer: it downloads the 4.5GB library in for each of the four, with descriptive names
composers. There’s everything from synths chunks, then strings it together for you with like Animated, Jagged, Paranormal and (our
to choirs, from a Theremin to apocalyptic presets in your chosen location. Open Kontakt favourite) Quilt. Each of these then has 24
percussion. Quadral 3 is the company’s latest (either standalone or in your DAW), and locate variations or ambiences to choose from; so
title, an instrument that packs in an impressive the library: the presets should load in as normal. combine 16 categories, each with 24 variants
set of dramatic sounds – with plenty of control Quadral 3 gives you four (hence the name) over four layers, and you get… er, an awful lot
over them – yet retails for barely the price of a layers of sound to mix and match; each can be of variations! Other great additions include
simple plugin effect. It also sees the Kontakt set up with its own envelope shaping controls 36 waveshapes to use as core samples. You
format stretched into one of the fullest proper plus pitch, pan and width. Quadral 3 also has can even load in your own sounds – a big
instruments we’ve tested. an impressive set of features to move and mix update in this version of the software.

70 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024


You’re not going to be
using Quadral 3 for the
next Downton Abbey
or The Crown – unless
aliens invade
There are six folders of 300 Arp, Bass,
Lead, FX, Pad and Pluck presets – pre-made
combinations of the four layers – or just press
a random dice button to get more. With
these presets alone, you have an impressive
instrument that delivers a huge number
of combinations per dollar – and we haven’t
even got to the movement part yet.
Here, you can’t fail to notice the 3D pyramid
in the middle of the screen. The X-Y pad features
around it enable you to morph between your
chosen four sounds automatically or via MIDI
CC, so you can easily blend two together with,
say, your mod wheel. This opens up the X-Y pad
to automation, so you can record and edit any
movements you make within your DAW.
There are also options below this area to set
how the X-Y slider moves automatically (left,
right, top or bottom) and the speed and range
of how it does this. You can also map these
movements to up to four macros. You use
simple grids for each, which allow you to
select the destination (layer 1-4, or effect), the
parameter and the range that a macro controls.
You can then assign, for example, the Mod
wheel to that macro to control it.
More dystopia for your dime
Considering the amount of core content you
get – plus the number of combinations and the
movement you can bring in – Quadral 3 has
an awful lot of sonic bang for your buck. Add in
an arpeggiator and filter for each layer, and this
could be one of the best-value and fully featured
Kontakt instruments that we’ve seen in a while.
Quadral 3 might have a limited appeal
musically; we’re really talking synthetic, dark,
dramatic and electronic. So it’s perhaps aimed
more at sci-fi, maybe a touch of horror, and
anything dramatic, futuristic and apocalyptic.
You’re not going to be using Quadral 3 for the
Click on the FX tab to open up a rack that gives you access to 27 of Kontakt’s built-in effects and processors
soundiron quadral 3 / reviews <
There are an impressive 300 presets in Quadral 3, spread over Arp, Bass, FX, Lead, Pad and Pluck
folders – but it’s more about how these sounds can evolve that makes this software so good
A very moving sound
So far we’ve highlighted the many
and varied ways that you can add
movement, and how Quadral’s macros
allow you to bring variations to both
the four sets of layers and effects –
but how does this translate to the
Quadral sound? You can sum it up
in one word: movement.
Across the board in the Arps, Bass,
Leads, Pads, Plucks and FX folders, you
will typically find something moving
from left to right or from top to bottom,
either fading between the four layers
next series of Downton Abbey or The Crown –
unless aliens invade.
That said, we found in our explorations
that simple fades between sounds with a touch
of filtering also gave us some good ambient
textures, so there can be more here than
initially meets the ear. Either way, Quadral 3
is exceptional for the outlay.
Web www.soundiron.com
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 71
or controlling effects, vibrato, panning
and a lot more. And the 3D pyramid
graphic can end up spinning like
something out of Stargate. (You can
switch this off, apparently!)
So really, as good as the layers of
samples are – and there are some great
variations – it’s more about evolving
sounds, changes in effect parameters
and dynamic evolution. If you are not
happy with your chosen preset, you can
easily get it to evolve into something
else – and quickly.
Alternatively
Output Signal
£175
Signal is more rhythmic in many
ways, but it has a similar sonic feel
and layering engine
Gothic Instruments
Dronar Master Edition
£258
A different set of instruments, but
the results can be similarly eclectic
Verdict
For Lovely movement options
Great core sound library
Easy to use
Surprisingly cheap
Very much its own character
Against Sonically narrow in tone
Quadral 3 brings the full power of Kontakt
and a fantastic library to deliver a fabulous,
dynamic sound – with many options to
create more
8/10
 > reviews / baby audio transit

SEQUENCER MODE
Click on the yellow arrows MOTION PRESETS INFINITY
to switch to the DAW Use the buttons to assign Select both global and Choose
tempo‑synced mode individual parameters to module presets whether or
SKINS the macro control not the effect
Choose modules
from white continue to
or dark process when
grey colour the transition
schemes control is
at zero

PARAMETER
RANGE
TRANSITION Adjust the
CONTROL macro control
Move the range for
macro knob each dynamic
to collectively parameter using
adjust all the green and
dynamically pink halos
assigned
parameters

REVERB TAILS SL
Decide if the effect tails continue or SLOTS
Activate the output Add up to seven different
reset when the transition restarts soft limiter effects from a choice of 18

Baby Audio
Transit $99
Want an easy way to knit your track sections together?
This multi‑effects plugin could be just the thing, says Jon Musgrave
Creating polished transitions between macro control. Core effects include Delay, and are easy to use, with basic but well-chosen
different sections of your track ensures Reverb, Modulation, Multimode Filters and parameters. We particularly like having a good
that the track momentum is maintained, while Distortion. But there are other more niche choice of sound degradation (Distortion and
contributing to the overall finesse. But creating options, including Stereo Spread, Pitch Shift, Bitcrusher). Meanwhile, if you want quick
these transitions is often a fiddly process that sidechain compression-style Pump and OTT, results, Transit has over 300 full presets and
uses a combination of programming, effects and which is a three-band multiband compressor. also individual module presets, plus a beefy
automation. Transit (VST, VST3, AU, AAX) is a Rounding things off are global Wet/Dry Mix, randomisation system (see Randomise).
new multifaceted effects plugin from developer as well as Output Level (-inf to +15dB).
Baby Audio and artist/producer and YouTube In addition to these regular effects, Transit Modular madness
monolith Andrew Huang, which brings these includes two sound generators: Oscillator and If you wish, you can simply use Transit for
functions together. Noise. These blend with any input audio and static effects. However, what makes Transit
Transit is based around an eight-slot modular trigger on playback. They’re not as flexible as an a transition designer is the way you can
grid. You get seven effects slots that you can instrument design, but there’s plenty here for manipulate all the effects collectively using
populate from a choice of 18 different effects; creating noise sweeps and pitched risers. the macro control. There are two strands to how
the remaining slot is a manual and syncable Overall, the effects modules sound very good this works. First, key parameters in each module

72 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024

 baby audio transit / reviews <

We really love how the

macro control can so
easily add a dynamic
transformative aspect
to any sound
can be set to Dynamic Mode (Motion On). This
then initiates a halo-style adjustable parameter
range with both positive (green) and negative
(pink) options, and an adjustable response
curve. Second, parameters in Dynamic Mode
can then be moved collectively between their
range limits in one of two ways. The first option
is the big Transition Control macro knob (T), Use the Random Lock page to specify with ease which parameters should be randomised
which you can use in real time and automate
using DAW automation. The second option
is sequencer mode, accessed via the yellow
arrows icon on the Transition Control page. You Randomise
set the transition length, then, with your DAW in We’re used to seeing Randomise as a including the dynamic on/off selector
playback, use Transit’s play button to trigger the feature on many plugins: even so, the where available.
macro from the beginning of the next bar. degree of control varies considerably It’s a flexible solution that’s quite
Sequencer Mode includes two further and, in all honesty, unless you’re practical in use; once you’ve decided
settings: Pendulum switches the playback mode looking for something particularly what you want to fix, you simply click
to forwards then reverse, and Loop plays the crazy, full-on randomisation rarely the dice icon. For more subtle changes,
transition in a continuous loop. Pendulum can yields particularly usable results. we found locking both the module type
be used alongside Loop. As you may have Transit takes a far more controlled and the module mix blend (where
guessed, Loop mode turns Transit into a approach. Clicking on the Random used) delivered some good results.
continuous synced dynamic effect, making it an Lock padlock icon in the top-right Similarly, sometimes just randomising
excellent and more general creative tool. If your opens up the randomisation setup. a couple of modules while fixing the
DAW supports MIDI control of audio plugins, you This allows you to quickly lock each remainder was fruitful. Either way, it’s
can also control and trigger Transit using MIDI. module type and all its parameters a good system that’s ideal for this type
(Ctrl/Cmd-click) or simply target of plugin, and offers a handy pathway
Descend into soup individual module parameters, to complement the excellent presets.
This creates a flexible processor that covers
more than just transitions – and paging through
the presets reveals some brilliant effects.
Flavour-filled washouts (Verb and Pump),
multifaceted risers (Riser Designer), heavy sound. If you just want a straight up/down Alternatively
saturation (Foldover) and distortion (Obliterate) sweep, that’s also easily done.
are joined by some weird delays (Descend Into It takes a lot for us to give top marks, but this Boom Library liftFX
Soup), pitchy effects (Harmony Underwater) plugin ticks so many boxes and does things so £95
and beautiful decays (Before The Gates). We well that we think it’s absolutely deserving. Quick access to track ready risers
really love how the macro control can so easily and sweeps, with built-in effects
add a dynamic transformative aspect to any Web www.babyaud.io and loads of presets

Air Music Tech The Riser

£100
This synth-based design is great
for creating pitch- and noise-based
transition effects

Verdict
For Excellent choice of effects
and sound generation modules
Both manual and synchronised macro
controls for creating dynamic effects
Powerful randomisation system

Against There’s nothing bad to say

Transit really is more than the sum of its

parts: it delivers easy‑to‑use and dynamic
effects that are perfect for convincing track
transitions – and beyond!

Switch to Transit’s Sequencer Mode for tempo-locked control of transitions 10/10

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 73

> reviews / austrian audio micreator studio

SHOCKMOUNT CONDENSER MIC

This sits around the A redesigned Austrian
capsule to cut down Audio microphone within a
noise and vibrations swivel head for more
directional recording
HIGH/LOW/
MUTE
As on the back, HIGH/LOW
but adds a Mute Set to High to
option to cut the record standard
input signal conversations
and instruments;
Low to record
loud or close-
mic sources

FRONT LED
This glows green TWO 3.5MM
when you are using CONNECTIONS
it to adjust levels, These can be used
or red when it is as two headphone
balancing channels outs; or one can be
used for an extra
device input such
MAIN DIAL as the MiCreator
Controls input gain Satellite
and that of your
DAW, and also
balances two mics

Austrian Audio
MiCreator Studio
$199/$199
This recording bundle is as much at home recording podcasts as it is
instruments. This might be the only mic you need, says Andy Jones
In a short period of time, Austrian Audio has iPads, Android phones and iPhones (with interviewee’s microphone into the In/Out, and
certainly made a mark with its mics and optional camera kit) – and, of course, any Mac or you can then balance between the two for both
headphones. It has models of each for just about Windows PC. monitoring and recording. Singer-songwriters
every occasion, yet the company only started One of its main selling points is revealed can use a MiCreator Studio with, say, a guitar
out some six years ago. However, its latest around the back of the mic, where you get two plugged into the second In/Out, then blend that
product, MiCreator Studio, aims to be a single 3.5mm connections: Out and In/Out. These can with their vocal.
microphone for many creative activities (we’re be used either as two headphone outs, for Interestingly, Austrian Audio also sent us a
guessing that’s where the name comes from) – latency-free monitoring for two people, or as a second microphone, the all-analogue MiCreator
and as a ‘one mic for all’, it’s a bargain. single out with another device plugged into the Satellite (£89/$99), which plugs into the In/Out.
In/Out, which can then be mixed with MiCreator. The company has also released a Y-Lav lapel mic
Two into one This single feature means that MiCreator is (£49/$49) – ideal for interviews – but you needn’t
MiCreator Studio is both a USB-C microphone instantly ideal for many activities. For a podcast use either of these options if you have your own
and an interface that can plug straight into or interview, all you need to do is plug your mic to use for the second option.

74 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024


There may be no fancy
built-in effects, but that
means sound quality
and flexibility take
centre stage
Red light on
For a $199 microphone, MiCreator Studio feels
very solid. There are two rubber feet that help,
combined with a shockmount built around the
condenser capsule, to remove vibrations and
noise. The head of the microphone tilts for
more directional recording, and if you want to
put the mic onto a stand, it has both a standard
European connection and a US adaptor.
Two High/Low controls around the front and
back allow you to select between recording
situations. Use the former for typical spoken-
word podcasts or for more standard instrument
recordings, and the latter for close mic’ing or
loud music, where you can utilise the full 130dB
SPL bandwidth of the mic. Finally, a main rotary
controls both the input monitoring level and
that from the computer. This also doubles as
a balance control when two microphones are
connected. One will be monitored through the
left channel, the other through the right.
The recording quality is excellent – and not
just for voice, although it does excel in this area.
It also sounds exceptional with instruments.
Use the supplied instrument cable to plug in a
keyboard or guitar, and that sits on one channel
while the main mic goes on the other channel –
as expected, this is ideal for singer-songwriters.
That said, the two-mic option that MiCreator
offers will get you greater recording flexibility,
especially for mic positioning, so we decided to
test this option too. We recorded a piano using
the single MiCreator, then added the Satellite –
see MiCreator in the studio for more on how we
did this. The single stereo MiCreator Studio mic
gave great results in the centre of the piano, but
adding the Satellite allowed us to experiment –
one at each end of the piano, for example. The
quality of both recordings was similarly great,
but the two-mic option certainly allows for
more flexibility during mixing.
You get the USB-C mic,
instrument cable and
stand connector, plus two
cool fascias to change the
mic colour to red!
austrian audio micreator studio / reviews <
MiCreator in the studio
MiCreator Studio is not just about
singer-songwriters and podcasters: it
also very much has the studio recordist
in mind. A copy of Cubasis LE 3.5 –
an excellent recording companion for
smartphones and tablets – is included.
In our tests we used both mics in
various configurations with our DAW,
and it works like this. You set up the
‘master’ MiCreator Studio as the
interface – which will then be picked up
by your DAW as any interface would.
You can then simply use that single mic
Mic drop
With MiCreator Studio, Austrian Audio has
designed a mic fit for multiple purposes. There
may be no fancy built-in effects or gimmicks and
few controls, but that means sound quality and
flexibility take centre stage. Throw in the good
price and build quality (and that extra input) and
MiCreator is a great buy.
Web www.austrian.audio
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 75
MiCreator
ships with
Cubasis LE, a
great DAW for
iPhone, iPad or
Android. It’s
not essential
to use the mic,
though – we
got on fine
with the mic in
Logic and Live
to record on one stereo track or across
two mono tracks. However, when you
connect up MiCreator Satellite (via its
Link connector and with a supplied
3.5mm cable), you then record two
mono tracks, but with the added
flexibility that the mics can be
positioned away from each other for
interviews, better stereo recordings or
singers playing a guitar. Of course, you
don’t need Satellite to do this, but it
does have an extra headphone out, and
we think it’s well worth the extra $99.
Alternatively
Rode NT1 5th Gen
£249/$299
Not as flexible, but it has a great
sound that’s also ideal for
podcasting and recording
Aston Microphones Origin
£195
Not for direct podcasting, but one
of our longstanding favourites for
all-round recording
Verdict
For Great-sounding USB mic
The extra mic input gives great flexibility
Fantastic build quality
No frills, so easy to use
Against No built-in effects or
other gimmicks (also a plus!)
MiCreator Studio – and indeed the Satellite
option – is a fabulous, well-priced and easy
solution for podcasting, singer-songwriters
and high-quality instrument recording
9/10
 > reviews / solid state logic g3 multibuscomp
BAND SOLO BAND CROSSOVER AND LINK
Solo a band to focus Control the lower and upper
on how it sounds crossovers and link bands

DRIVE
Per-band drive,
THRESHOLD modelled on
Wide threshold classic SSL
range, all the console circuitry
way down
to -40dB
BANDS
VISUALISATION
Shows the levels,
RATIO thresholds and
Switchable crossover cutoffs
from a gentle being used
1.5:1 through to
an intense 10:1
BALANCE
Per-band and
master wet/dry
mix controls

ATTACK
There’s a good choice of attack RELEASE EXTERNAL SIDECHAIN
times (labelled in milliseconds) Release times range Set a band to respond to an
from 0.1s to a lazy 1.2s external sidechain signal

Solid State Logic

G3 MultiBusComp
£192/$240
The G Series bus compressor’s classic sound can be restricted by
its design, says Stuart Adams, so SSL has combined three into one
There are many reasons why SSL’s SL if what you’re after is a transparent compression an individual compressor modelled on the G
4000 G large-format mixing consoles elicit that adds cohesion and glue without obvious Series bus compressor. Bands can be enabled
such dewy-eyed praise. In a nutshell, it’s because volume pumping or squishing. This narrow and disabled individually, and each can be solo’d
every system and circuit within a G Series is window is a characteristic of all broadband so that you can hear clearly what it is doing.
designed to deliver astonishing audio clarity compressors, and is the primary justification for The lower and upper crossover frequencies
and a musically sympathetic response. The using multiband dynamics processing. What can be freely and easily adjusted to tune them
master bus compressor built in to the G Series would be ideal, then, is a multiband version of to the material you are working on. Unusually,
is a case in point: whether it’s configured to the G Series... and that’s exactly what SSL has though, the low and high bands each have a
create a feather-light touch of smoothing or to created with its new G3 MultiBusComp plugin. Link option that disables their compressor
crush your audio’s dynamics entirely, the results and bypasses their crossover point, in effect
just sound... well... right. Crossover dressing combining that band’s signal with the mid band
That said, the G Series bus compressor does As implied by the name, the G3 MultiBusComp for processing. Some great-sounding results can
have quite a narrow sweet spot to aim for – offers three processing bands, each graced with be achieved this way, for example processing

76 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024


The narrow sweet spot
of the original G Series
bus compressor has
been transformed into
a wide, sugary plateau
the low end on its own for solidity, while
processing mid and high frequencies, where
all the sonic detail resides, as one for more
cohesion. You can also link all three bands,
leaving you with a conventional broadband
G Series bus compressor.
Embellishments
The settings offered are the same for each of the
three compressors, and are the standard fare
of threshold, ratio, attack, release and makeup
gain. To these, SSL has added a couple of very
nice embellishments not normally seen on a
multiband compressor. The first is a per-band
distortion generator, modelled on the drive
circuit found in all SSL 4K console preamps (the
entire SL 4000 range, from the original A Series
through to the final G Series). This does a great
job of emulating the beloved SSL warmth,
sparkle and even aggression. Being able to vary
the strength of the effect on a per-band basis
can yield spectacular results – just dial a load
into the high band to see what we mean!
The second embellishment is that each band
has its own individual wet/dry mix control. This
may sound trivial, but it really isn’t, because it
gives so much control over how transparent
or obvious the overall effect sounds, without
sacrificing control over the most energetic parts
of the material. There’s also a conventional
master wet/dry mix setting.
Approaching perfection
The results delivered by G3 MultiBusComp
could not be more perfect, whether it’s adding
loudness to a full mix, making a drum submix
sound huge, or laying a blanket of silky
smoothness across a bed of backing vocals.
The G Series’ quintessential character and
musicality shine through from every pore, as
A multiband G Series bus compressor, you say? Why has nobody thought of this before?
solid state logic g3 multibuscomp / reviews <
The visualisation makes it easy to understand what’s happening in each band’s sidechain path
Superb sidechaining
It’s common for a compressor to allow
an external signal to be connected to
its sidechain, so that the main signal is
processed according to that external
signal’s dynamics. Of course G3
MultiBusComp can do this too – but
what’s more unusual is that external
sidechaining can be enabled on a
per‑band basis, making for some
fascinating possibilities. The only
downside is that there’s only one
external sidechain path shared by
all bands that use it.
Sidechain filtering is much rarer on
multiband compressors. This doesn’t
stop G3 MultiBusCompressor from
does SSL’s legendary attention to detail.
Perhaps best of all, the narrow sweet spot of
the original G Series bus compressor has been
transformed into a wide, sugary plateau packed
full of sonic possibilities. We have, without
question, found our new favourite mix and
mastering compressor!
Web www.solidstatelogic.com
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 77
including per‑band sidechain filters,
though, with each band including
a bell‑type cut or boost filter in its
sidechain. Moreover, the low‑ and
high‑pass filters that control a band’s
crossover points can be disabled in
a band’s sidechain path, with the
practical upshot of allowing a band
to be tuned to respond to frequencies
outside of its compression band.
This would all get confusing but for
the intuitive sidechain visualisation
view and the ability to solo each band’s
sidechain, both of which make it really
easy to understand and conceptualise
exactly what’s happening.
Alternatively
AMEK Mastering Compressor
$399
Modelled on a rare and revered
hardware unit, this plugin delivers
transparent loudness effortlessly
PSP oldTimerMB
$199
Three bands of PSP compressor
make for great-sounding masters
with a vintage flavour
Verdict
For Per-band saturation/drive
and wet/dry balance
Sidechain filtering for each band
Attractive and easy to use
Clear, helpful interactive visualisations
Against All bands have to share
the same external sidechain bus
By tripling up on a classic bus compressor,
SSL has created a near-perfect submix,
mix and mastering compressor
10/10
> reviews / mini reviews

Soundware round-up

Zenhiser
Bedouin – Organic House & Techno £40
A whopper stock of sophisticated samples, drawing deep from within the
vibe-tastic temple of organic house.
Each soothing choon and ethically-blessed beat has been spiritually
devised to align chakras on your dancefloor. With ’nuff arp glides, pad moods,
sweet drum sounds, and inviting bass rhythms to draw any and all wandering
Audiotent souls to the flapping entrance of your dusty desert tent.
The 5GB+ of Bedouin-approved grooves also takes in choice MIDI files,
Birdhouse £45 stems, synths, and some shimmering FX touches.
www.zenhiser.com

A timely ode to the bumping basslines n8/10n

and squiggly synths found slap-bang in

the centre of the Dirtybird record
label’s most recent releases.
The fat drum sound and tech-funk
flavours currently whipping up clubs
Stateside is all in here, in force. With a
whole other flock of infectious
dancefloor-delighting loops and hits,
built for maximum club carnage.
It’s an essential toolkit, hosting 1.36GB
of rhythm-driven leads, laser-pointed
Loopmasters
FXs, and drum kits you’ll be devouring
Epic Deep House £29.95
for days. All in, the sound design crew If you’re in the sample market looking for some gravitas and scale to add to
your limp loops, then bask in the glow of this little lot. All the drums, sub-bass
deliver top-notch track tucker, well booms, and attention-grabbing leadlines and vocals are ready to shake the
club, thank you very much. And all the beats thump just right.
worth tweeting about. The weighty frequencies are a trip, too, holding down the lower end of the
sonic spectrum with a touch of maturity and class. Solid stuff, for house heads
www.audiotent.com with a taste for the deeper end of the pool.
www.loopmasters.com
n 8/100 n8/10n

78 / COMPUTER MUSIC February 2024

 mini reviews / reviews <

James Curd UNDRGRND Sounds

House Foundations £25
James Curd has long been a champion of quality dance music. Often infusing
genres to add his own swing to proceedings.
Through these 500+ samples, he touches on his house roots, past and
present. And lays out a fine array of loops to love.
The 1.13GB set is a breeze to navigate, as the live recorded elements brush
up against iconic club sounds, with each soulful loop and drum groove fit for
purpose. Vintage gear has been used, and modern touches applied, making
for a strong set of foundations to build any house track on.
www.samplemarket.co.uk
n7/10n
Rave Renaissance 2 £24.95
After the inaugural instalment of this heyday-hyping sample series,
anticipation was high for a worthy follow-up. And it doesn’t disappoint.
Fans of the OG will have their whistle posse on speed dial, and be itching
to finger the fun of the filtered samples tucked away in volume two.
There’s hoovers, 303s, drum machine loops and hits, dub FX, and other
retro-analogue-style grooves galore in full, and stripped back, stem stylee.
It’s all as gloriously old-skool as Japanese car logos and birds of peace. So,
stay hydrated, yeah?
www.undrgrndsounds.com
n7/10n

W. A. Production Sample Tools by Cr2

Techno Hurricane $24.90
Batten down the hatches, there’s a sample storm a-brewing. The blustery
basslines whipped up in this musical maelstrom will have your speakers
shaking on the wall. The drums hit like thunder and the lead lines lash down.
And all the other synth shots, vocals, FX, and 70-odd melody loops, swirl
around with menace. It all comes together to form a tremendous torrent of
top-notch techno. With extra atmosphere sounds and Serum presets adding
to the deluge. It’s intense and powerful stuff.
www.waproduction.com
n7/10n
90s House & Progressive £15.99 (or 300 Credits)
Wheel up the wax on that Technics turntable, making sure not to knock the needle,
as we step back into the past. To a time before smart phones and even smarter DJ
controllers – the world of pre-millennium club music. These song-starting
construction kits are stuck in the ’90s, and better for it, with all the retro and revival
rhythms and riff.
Groovy Roland drums, euphoric hits and pianos, and other jackin’ jams jostle for
room. It’s time warp vibes, matey. Climb in.
www.sampletoolsbycr2.com
n8/10n

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 79

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BEATSKILLZ CHORUST
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MASTERCLASSES
This month, our experts show
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sequence, fashion a killer drop and employ
seamless mix bus compression
01 Visit bit.ly/cm330downloads
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> Free software
BEATSKILLZ CHORUST
Great-sounding, hardware-inspired chorus plugins aren’t usually
free, so this month readers are in for a treat…
A quality chorus is a must-have for your
processing toolbox. It provides quick
access to both rich, thickening tones and
subtle modulations, which helps to add
polish to your mixes.
Beatskillz is an established developer with a
growing stable of processing and instrument
plugins. They typically feature a visually
engaging interface, are fun to use and deliver a
wide sonic palette. Good examples are their
Papyrus Kz synth, which is ideal for new age
instruments and textures; Vinylistik, a classic
boom-bap drum machine; and Slam2, the latest
incarnation of their multistage EQ, saturation
and compression processor.
Chorust (AU, VST 3, AAX) is their vintage
modulation plugin. It normally retails for $29,
but this month, our readers get it for free. It’s
based on some of the best sounding hardware
units and not only recreates those rich
modulation sounds, but also tailors them. The
two core modulation modes are joined by a lofi
processor and high and low-pass filters, with the
latter using the popular analogue ladder design.
All aspects are presented in a simple, resizable
plugin window with metering and level controls.
In this tutorial we’ll show you how to claim,
download and install your free copy. Then we’ll
take a look at the plugin layout itself, explaining
what the controls do. Finally, we’ll show how
Chorust sounds by auditioning each processing
component. We’ll then put Chorust through its
paces, demonstrating not only what it’s good
for but also checking out its onboard presets.
Finally, Beatskillz has a number of excellent
plugins, so if you like Chorust, why not head
over to www.beatskillz.com for further
information, demo versions and discounted
plugin bundles.

PRESET FILTERS SAVE OUTPUT GAIN

Load up one of the 20 Modify the overall signal using Save your current settings Tailor the output gain
categorised presets both high- and low-pass filters as a user preset level +/-12dB

INTENSITY TYPE LOFI WIDTH RESIZE

Adjust the amount of Choose from two Add flavour to the Adjust the Use the corner
modulation applied to the different chorus overall sound using overall stereo tab to freely
chorus effect modulation types this noise and width of the resize the
degrader effect chorus effect plugin window

84 / COMPUTER MUSIC February 2024

 beatskillz chorust / free software <
Download the accompanying video
and the MIDI/audio files at
bit.ly/cm330downloads
> Step by step 1.Installationandregistration
1 2
To get started head to this issue’s quiz form (bit.ly/
cm330downloads), answer the questions and reveal your special
CM coupon code. Next, head to Beatskillz’ special page: www.
beatskillz.com/chorust-redeem/. Register your details, including email
address and password. Apply the coupon, and place your order.
> Step by step 2.Familiarisingyourselfwiththeplugin
1 2
The interface has a simple layout and can be freely resized, so you
can match it to your screen resolution. In the top bar, you’ll find the
preset browser with the drop-down, revealing 20 categorised presets.
To the right are the preset save and preset unload icons.
3 4
Chorust also includes high- and low-pass filters and a lofi
processor, which you’ll find in the middle section. These operate in
series with the chorus effect, and you’ll still hear their effect when the
chorus Intensity is set to minimum (bypassed).
Now download the correct software for your platform directly
from the confirmation page or by logging in using your
registration details. Run the wizard to install the plugin. Next launch
your DAW and load an instance of Chorust. The first time you do this
you’ll need to login using your registration email and password.
Chorust is dominated by its main chorus controls with Intensity on
the left and Width on the right. Meanwhile in the bottom you can
select the Type of chorus. The type switches act as toggles, and
clicking anywhere in this area changes from one option to the other.
There are a few further features dotted around the interface. In the
middle, two concentric circles provide an animated indicator of the
chorus intensity and width. On the left and right extremes are level
meters. Finally, at the top right is an output level control (+/-12dB).
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 85
> free software / beatskillz chorust
> Step by step 3.Identifyingthemainprocessingtypes
1 2
Chorust delivers a bunch of different sounds, so let’s break down
what they do. To get started we’ve loaded up a simple bass sound
and inserted an instance of Chorust. To ensure everything is reset
accordingly, we’ve then loaded the Default preset from the preset list.
In this state, the filters and lofi processors are inactive.
3 4
The chorus effect also has two modes: Type A and Type B. Switch
between them and you’ll hear that A is quite subtle, while B is
pretty strong. It’s worth trying different intensity settings in each mode
to get a feel for the breadth of effects available, and once again, you’ll
see the animated graphic also changes to match the mode.
5 6
The filters in Chorust are based on analogue ladder designs, and
these deliver a very coloured sound. They are inactive at extremes
(20kHz and 20Hz) but as you move the faders, the sound begins to
change considerably, with both filters introducing harmonic
distortions, that are noticeable as you move to middle frequencies.
86 / COMPUTER MUSIC February 2024
Chorust’s main control is the Intensity slider which sets the
amount of modulation applied. The default preset loads with this
set reasonably high, but try other settings down to zero (bypassed) to
hear the range of the effect. Also spot how adjusting the intensity also
influences the animated concentric circle graphic in the middle.
Chorust’s other key parameter is Width. The default preset loads
with this set to a medium position, and from here turning the dial
fully counterclockwise achieves a mono output, while fully clockwise is
the widest setting. Try increasing the Width and you’ll also notice that
the modulation alternates between left and right to create a panning
modulation effect.
Finally Lofi. This is Chorust’s most intriguing control. Rather than
apply a single process such as harmonic distortion, it combines
sample rate reduction, bit depth reduction and noise. As you wind it in
you’ll get some mid range harmonics, very high end harmonics and
also noise. The effect is not dramatic, adding further subtle flavour.
 beatskillz chorust / free software <
> Step by step 4.Chorustforelectricpianosounds
1 2
One of our favourite target sounds for chorus is electric piano, so
this is where we’ll start. Open up a basic preset and remove any
onboard chorus and stereo effects to provide a bare bones sound,
ready for processing. Then load an instance of Chorust as an insert.
3 4
The default settings deliver a wonderfully rich sound, and our
initial change is simply to adjust the Intensity. This creates a range
of tones and at the extreme settings really shows off the character of
the Type A mode, with its even and subtle movement between left and
right channels.
5 6
If we keep the Lofi engaged and now engage the filters, we can
further enhance the retro effect. This influences the total signal, so
we don’t want to filter off too much, but here we’ve set the low-pass to
16kHz and high-pass to 35Hz. This introduces noticeable harmonics,
creating an even more degraded sound.
Switching over to Type B reveals a noticeably different effect. First
up, the modulation is clearly faster, but also much deeper. This
delivers a thicker, more obvious chorus effect. Even if we now increase
both the Width and Intensity to their maximum settings, Type B creates
a very lush effect that also works for electric piano.
On this occasion we prefer the more subtle type A mode, and
returning to this we can further tailor it using Chorust’s additional
processes. Let’s start with the lofi option. At lower settings this is quite
subtle, but as you wind it up, it adds more obvious noise and some
aliasing for a retro sound.
Finally, let’s try some of the presets. For a moderately thin, retro
sound we really like ‘05SweetHiss’ from the OldSkool folder. And if
we really want to degrade the sound, then ‘01Buzz_A’ from the Dirty
folder is a good choice. For warmer tones there are plenty of options
and our favourite is ‘02Thick_Tone B’.
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 87
> free software / beatskillz chorust
> Step by step 5.Thickeningbasssounds
1 2
Chorus can be great for all types of bass sounds, adding width and
texture. Try starting with a basic synth bass, removing all the
effects so you just have the raw sound. Load up Chorust as an insert,
and once again start with the default setting.
3 4
Chorust includes some handy presets. Let’s try some of these on
our synth bass sound. For added thickness, our favourite is
‘04LightSilk’, which blends in a small amount of Type B chorus.
Meanwhile, for a more edgy sound, ‘02ThickTone_B’ does the trick. For
pad-like basses, we love the ‘01WarmLoFi’ preset.
5 6
These settings are a bit too processed for us, so the first thing to do
is turn down the Intensity – we’ve set ours to about a third. This
adds just enough flavour for a more contemporary acoustic bass
sound. From here we’ve added in the Lofi effect (set to about 0.80) to
add a bit of noise and edge.
88 / COMPUTER MUSIC February 2024
This adds noticeable chorusing to our sound and for our bass the
default intensity setting is too much. The first thing to do is reduce
this – we’ve set ours to about a half. Beyond this we can now tweak the
Width setting to taste and this works well with the Type A chorus
setting. We’ve set it to about ten past.
Chorust is also ideal for processing bass guitar and acoustic bass,
particularly if you want a fatter or more processed sound. Here
we’ve loaded up an acoustic bass part with Chorust as an insert. Once
again we’re starting with the default settings.
With acoustic bass, we’re not after a very processed sound so most
of the presets are a bit too much. Nevertheless, if you head to the
Smooth folder, there are at least a couple that fit the bill, including our
favourite ‘01WarmLoFi’, which adds width and harmonics, and
‘04LightSilk’, which once again adds a small amount of richness.
 beatskillz chorust / free software <
> Step by step 6.UsingChorustasanauxiliary
1 2
So far, we’ve used Chorust as an insert effect for single sounds, but
we can also use it as an auxiliary. This configuration can be easier
to balance when mixing, and allows sharing of the effect across
multiple sources. Load up an instance of Chorust in an auxiliary bus,
making sure the default preset is selected.
3 4
Now simply use the auxiliary send to add Chorust where required.
We’ve started with our vocal, setting a modest send level. This
adds some width and sheen to our single vocal track, making it sound
less isolated. Nevertheless, it’s important not to add too much effect as
this can sound unpleasant.
5 6
Much like our insert examples, we can also tailor Chorust using the
Lofi and filters. Starting with the filters, these can be great for
focusing the effect, and as mentioned, the ladder design also adds
harmonics. Here we’ve set the low-pass at about 8.5kHz and high-pass
at about 275Hz to help enhance the vocal frequencies.
For an auxiliary effect, set the Intensity to maximum and also
increase the Width; we’ve set ours to about 10 past 12. Leave the
filters and Lofi settings bypassed for now, and set the mode to Type A.
You can change this to Type B if you want more flavour.
Sticking with our vocal it’s worth trying mode Type B. This also
sounds fine but, as expected, the stronger modulation sounds
more pitchy and this is less suited to lead vocals. We can still use it, but
we’ve reduced our send level accordingly so that the chorus effect is
adding subtle width and depth to the sound.
As an alternative, why not use the Lofi effect on its own to degrade
the sound? Reset the filters to their bypassed positions and wind
up the Lofi to its maximum. Here we’ve also switched to chorus Type B.
We’re still using this as a lead vocal effect, but have also added it to our
electric piano for more edgy flavour.
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 89
> your free samples / all-new samples
Download all assets for this issue at
bit.ly/cm330downloads

Kicks and Complex Beats

This month we’re serving up some fresh beat-making components. Here are
two new packs spanning kicks and subs plus skittering, complex rhythms…

Big Kicks & Sub Bass Complex Beats

We need a solid foundation for our beat, and our man With the sub elements in place, we then asked Oli if he
Robbie has built some bone-vibrating low-end elements… could rustle up some beats that go beyond the norm
“There are no right ways to which always contained the “Getting complex with some beats and polymeter to make some
approach the low-end thumps and excellent reFuse Lowender plugin this month and we decided to interesting patterns. Continuing
bumps, and it can be fun as well as and the UAD Precision Enhancer Hz. embrace the theme in its wider the hardware side we used two
enlightening to explore different “For the loops, Sub bass context making some rhythmically circuit bent drum machines for
methods of generating those basslines were created with synths complex loops but also using some destructive chaos and fed the
dramatic bass moments, which is and the Arturia B-3 V organ (the granular processing, delays, Roland through both the Fabrikat
what has been the guiding idea for HamSub loops/multisample) to mix glitching and circuit bending to and particle pedals for some
this sample pack. The main in with a beat. Other sections make the drum sounds more complex granular processing. On
principle was to grab a source and include Moogerfooger sub drops complex as well. the software side we used the
see how far it would bend. Layered and multisamples.” “We rinsed the TR-8S’s very cool excellent Rerun 2 to give some
kick drums were tweaked in More detailed info on what the variable step length available for subtle glitches. We also ran a
Kontakt and then processed as a pack contains is in Robbie’s PDF each drum sound to create some selection of loops through
single drum via a chain of plugins bit.ly/cm330downloads beats that use both polyrhythm Freakshow Industries Backmask.”

SELECTED GEAR
Thermionic Culture The Rooster valve SELECTED GEAR
preamp/EQ Roland TR-8S
Klark Teknik DN27a graphic equaliser Circuit bent Yamaha DD-6
Moog MF-101 Lowpass Filter pedal Circuit bent Kawai R50e
Moog MF-102 Ring Modulator pedal Pladask Elektrisk Fabrikat
Arturia V Collection Red Panda Particle
NI Kontakt 5 Freakshow Industries Backmask
Soundtoys plugins Glitchmachines Convex
Eventide plugins Glitchmachines Cryogen
iZotope Ozone 8 plugins Glitchmachines Fracture
reFuse Lowender plugin Sinevibes Rerun v2
Cableguys ShaperBox 3 Various delay and reverb plugins
+ many more! FXpansion Geist2

90 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024

 from the vault / your free samples <

FROM THE VAULT

Classic samples
Ultimate Vocals
We’ve done a fair few vocal packs over the years, and their
evergreen delights are still a rich source of texture today…

ULTIMATE

VOCALS
Ultimate Vocals
We’ve gathered our best ever vocal samples, all in one place (OK two
places, including the bonus collection below). In the first of these
collections, the Ultimate Vocals pack, you’ll find five folders of Female
Vocals from some of the best singers in the business. Secondly there is a
folder of FX and Processed
sounds with over a hundred
vocal effects.
1,000+ SOUNDS There are three packed folders
in our next vocal samples
Including category, called MCs and
445 Female vocals Rappers, which include hip-hop
vocals. Then it’s on to Rhythmic
107 FX and Processed and Loops samples with ten
64 MCs and Rappers folders of varied vox samples.
110 Rhythmic Loops We then have a pack of Hard
Dance Vocals before things get a
86 Spoken and Shouts little X-rated as we finish with our
216 XXX Vocal Samples XXX Vocal Sample Collection.”

Bonus Vocals Pack

SampleRadar is a great free samples resource hosted by our website
MusicRadar.com, and there you’ll find a huge resource of audio samples
covering just about every sound and genre that you can imagine. We’ve
gathered all of their best vocal hits into this bonus pack.
Within it you get a folder of Ad libs with lots of ‘yeahs’ and ‘oohs’. As
with our other samples, the BPM and pitch info is in the sample title but
that’s not to stop you bending and editing the samples to fit in with your
own mixes. Next up is a folder of
FX sounds containing lots of
processed vocals. We close with
around 40 spoken word samples
320+ SAMPLES with “come ons”, “do it!” and a lot
more. That’s really quite a lot of
257 Ad libs vocal samples so you need never
use your own voice in your tunes
30 FX and processed ever again! That’s great news in
40 Spoken word our case.

February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 91

> your free samples / loopmasters samples
Download all assets for this issue at
bit.ly/cm330downloads

Loopmasters 330 samples

This month’s demo sample selection highlighting Loopmasters’ latest releases
01 IQ Samples Dance Pop & Vocals 04 Dabro Music Lost Knights
02 Apollo Sound Lo-Fi Textures Tearout Samples
03 Samplestate Lucio Agustin Minimal 05 Loopmasters Latin House Bangers 2
Deep House 06 OneZero Samples Heavyweight Rollers

92 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024

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> Listen up

Magnetic Skies
Fusing the chilly intensity of darkwave with
the melodic sensibilities of their ’80s synthpop
heroes, four-piece outfit Magnetic Skies have
just dropped their debut album. We spoke to
frontman Simon Kent to learn more about their sound and
how they craft their retro-futuristic sonic worlds…

94 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024


Could you give us a bit of background
on Magnetic Skies and how the band
first formed?
Simon Kent: “It was really at the end of a solo
project that I had around 2018. It kind of came
to a natural conclusion. I had a festival date
booked for the summer that year, and I’d already
been kind of working with Jo Womar (synths/
keyboard) a little bit in that period. We’d been
in the studio tinkering around with more
electronic-sounding stuff. So we had about four
demos at that point. We had that live date, and
decided to play it as a duo.
“Jo’s really studio-based, she’d only ever done
stuff in the studio at that point, but we thought
we’d play the show. Jo really enjoyed it. We then
booked another quite low-key gig which went
really cool. From there we decided to throw
everything into it. We came up with the name
Magnetic Skies as the first song we wrote
together had that title. We wrote more songs,
did a few more gigs and released a couple of EPs
and things seemed to be going well and was
being well-received. We wanted a bit more
energy, so recruited Carlos Aguilar and Lenin
Alegria on guitars and drums, respectively.
They fitted in really well and became part of
the band.”
The jolt of 2020’s lockdown must have been
frustrating. How did you ride through
that storm?
SK: “We did what everyone else did, really, and
wrote heaps of material and started planning
our first album.”
Did the addition of Carlos and Lenin alter
the band’s initial sound significantly?
SK: “It certainly did change, although some of
the songs that have made it to the album, like
the title track and Into Paradise, are really pure
synth-pop. But then, yeah you can certainly feel
that there’s a different element and vibe with
things like Darker Night and Empire Falling
which have a darkwave/goth feeling.”
It seems like a shared love of synth-pop runs
through your work. We’re reminded of artists
like Violator-era Depeche Mode, Pet Shop
Boys, Erasure. How right are those reference
points, and is injecting that quality something
that you consciously do when writing?
SK: “Well, Violator is Jo’s favourite album so
that’s definitely an element. A lot of people
compare our sound to Pet Shop Boys, but I’m
not really a massive fan. Since people have
started saying it I have dug into them and
discovered a lot of stuff.
“I’ve always gone a little bit against the grain.
When I was growing up my friends were into
guitars and stuff which is quite a ‘default’ I think.
But I’ve always been really drawn to keyboards
and synthesisers. During the Britpop era I loved
The Charlatans because they incorporated more
instruments. I’ve always been a keyboard guy.
“I can just work my way around keys easier.
I’ve always listened to synth music. As I’ve
looked back and got into things like Kraftwerk
and Roxy Music, Bowie’s ‘Berlin’ trilogy – those
second sides especially, it became more central.
It goes right back to the seventies for me. But
the ’80s seemed to be an era where the songs
were great, the production was great and the
synths were front and centre. There were a lot
of good songs and synths were everywhere,
that element is really attractive to us. We wanted
magnetic skies / listen up <
to write songs as well as create synth music. In
theory I could sit down with an acoustic guitar
and play any of these songs stripped down.”
How do tracks typically start for you – is it
with a kind of sonic quality you’re looking
for, a mood or even lyrics?
SK: “It used to be that I always wrote on a piano
and built songs up in that form first. On this
project I do sit down and develop an idea of
what ‘atmosphere’ and ‘feel’ I want to make,
then actually the song is bolted on to the music
now, which is a new way of working for me.
It’s interesting to develop things in this way.
I can’t remember the last time I sat down and
just built something with chords. So it is
definitely mood and feeling led.
“When I’ve got a bare demo of the song, it
goes to Jo. She’s got her own elements in terms
of sonics that she writes. Then it goes to the
other guys to build out their parts.”
And which track on the upcoming debut
record took the longest to get right,
would you say?
SK: “The song Empire Falling took a while as it
really encompassed the whole feeling of the
album. It’s not a big synth pop song, it’s got the
slowest, moodiest vibe. When we were coming
up toward the mastering process I realised
“We write songs as well as
create synth music. In theory
I could sit down and play
them all on an acoustic guitar”
I wasn’t happy with it, so we re-did the vocals.
We took a lot of care on that on – because it’s
the title track, people will probably listen to
it a bit closer.”
What gear and technology is the cornerstone
of your home studio?
SK: “Everything starts off in Logic. I make first
versions with the stock soft synths [ES2 and
Retro Synth]. I’ve got a [hardware] Roland
V-Synth in here, a Behringer DeepMind 12 – that’s
my newest thing. I’ve also got a Roland Juno-106
and a Korg Poly-800. I create the basic tunes in
Logic, then run the MIDI out into those synths.
We then take ages tweaking and messing
around. I’m really into running the MIDI out into
the real synths – in reality you probably can’t tell
the difference, but at least I know that we’ve
done something to those basic sounds.
“Most of what you hear on this album will be
the Juno, there’s a little bit of V-Synth on there.
The DeepMind is a new acquisition – it’s on
a couple of tracks. It’s mainly used for sequence
lines. I’m really into that at the moment. I’m
racking it up next to the Juno. It’s interesting
lining the patches up and seeing how they
compare. I tend to not use the DeepMind’s
effects, I really like starting with the sound and
adding everything afterwards in the mix stage.
It makes things sound more analogue.”
Is there a big difference in your mind
between using softsynths and hardware
synths, do you feel more creative with
a tactile keyboard?
SK: “I hope that there’s an element of that.
There’s possibly an element where it makes you
feel like you’re being a bit more creative and that
you’re actively manipulating the sounds and
sonics [with hardware]. You really get granular
about it. Like I say, we spend ages tweaking stuff
that probably sounded fine half an hour before.
If it’s a bass sequencer I’d put my synth in unison
mode and bank up a load of sounds then play
around to give it more depth. I’d never just
leave it as it was.”
There are some really top-notch vocals on
these tracks. Is vocal processing something
that you’re particularly interested in, and
how do you achieve some of these effects?
SK: “There’s not any pitch-correction going on;
what we have is three vocal lines going on at
once. There’s bitcrusher-type distortions on
some of them. Obviously there are reverbs and
echoes and some flange-y stuff as well. It gives it
a kind of robotic element. We’re always
tweaking and that’s another thing that we spent
ages going over near the end of the process.”
You’ve supported some impressive people,
like Altered Images and Heaven 17 – how was
it sharing the stage with such luminaries, and
did you learn anything
new from those nights?
SK: “Clare Grogan from
Altered Images was the
nicest person in the industry
that I’ve ever met. Heaven 17
we’ve played with three or
four times now. I’ve learned
a lot from Glenn [Gregory].
The first time we supported
them we were still learning
what we were all about
on-stage. Then, you see
someone who’s got 40 years experience
playing live and it’s extraordinary.”
Do you prefer playing live or being in-studio?
SK: “Before this project I’d have said it was all
about in-studio, but we’ve got really good as
a live band. I’ve appreciated things I didn’t
appreciate before about those moments
of communication and empathy with an
audience. It’s all part of the package and
equally important.”
What is on your ultimate synth wish-list,
if money was no object?
SK: “Definitely a Prophet-5. Through the ’80s
that was so dominant and just sounded
fantastic. I always think of artists like Japan who
used it to great effect.”
What’s next on the agenda?
SK: “We’ve got a few live dates coming up, and
we’re also back in the studio, already writing
album number two. This first album feels like
a first chapter, which sums up our first few
years, the second album will be a lot more
sparse, a bit more like New Order. I’ve been
listening to Unity by [coldwave duo] The KVB
and I really like their use of sparser sounds. The
album will incorporate some of these different
things I’m hearing and liking in music.”
Magnetic Skies’ Empire Falling is available now. For
more info and tour dates, visit magneticskies.com
February 2024 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 95
Download this month’s videos: bit.ly/cm330downloads

BEATSKILLZ
CHORUST
Follow along with the video as we introduce this
hardware-inspired chorus plugin, free with this issue!
Read the full article from p84

/experts SYNTH MASTERCLASS DANCE MUSIC MASTERCLASS MIX MASTERCLASS

CREATE A GATED HOW TO MAKE MIX BUS

SYNTH SEQUENCE A KILLER DROP COMPRESSION
Our resident
music production
gurus walk you
through their
specialist field
every month Read the full Read the full Read the full
article on p40 article on p44 article on p48

96 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024

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Next issue
ISSUE 330 FEBRUARY 2024
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perfect piano sounds

Content Director, Music: Scott Rowley
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Group Art Director: Graham Dalzell
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Over the last few years, virtual and

sampled pianos have become nigh-
on indistinguishable from their real-
life counterparts, and next issue we’re
guiding you through the current
cream of the crop, with tutorials on 2023

piano mixing, classic tones and more!

PLUS!

Sound Like… Free samples On test

Emulate Ed Sheeran Rumble your speakers NI Guitar Rig 7,
We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from responsibly managed, certified forestry and
in the first of a new with some deep bass LANDR’s Mastering chlorine-free manufacture. The paper in this magazine was sourced and produced from sustainable managed forests,
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tutorial series and ’70s-inspired synths Plugin and more… FSC and PEFC certification and accreditation.

98 / COMPUTER MUSIC / February 2024

9000 9001