ONE-SHOTS
Jun 1, 2005 12:00 PM
ZERO-G MORPHOLOGY
VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT/SOUND LIBRARY
With a name synonymous with explorative analog synthesis and sample-library productions, Ian Boddy is the creator of Zero-G titles such as Dream Zone, Malice in Wonderland and the popular Ambient series. Unlike his earlier efforts, which came out in audio and Reason and Acidized WAV formats, Boddy's new Morphology is a self-contained eight-part multitimbral virtual instrument enveloped by the Native Instruments Kompakt sampler interface, which can be run stand-alone or as plug-in in all leading formats on both Macintosh and PC. More than 3 GB of 24-bit sample material installs from the single DVD and must be authorized within five days at the NI Website (www.nativeinstruments.de) using the computer-ID challenge-and-response method now typical of NI-hosted sample libraries.
Categorized as Atmospheres, Drones, FX, Harmonic Loops, Industrial, Pads and Synths, Virtual Synth and Voices, each section contains subcategories broken out by mood or pretense. Drawing primarily from analog sources, Boddy weaves meandering modulars into seemingly endless, evolving textures kissed with just the right effects to create emotionally charged one-note soundscapes. From impending and mysterious to elevating or downright evil, it's all here. As its name implies, nothing in Morphology stands still: Bell towers revolve and slowly arpeggiate in the wind; cavernous spaces drip of stalactite resonance; bells are scraped, bowed and sucked into space; orchestras undergo self-destructing LFO phases — you get the picture. More than 300 patches strong, Morphology takes you on an evocative journey of constant movement through time and space; the only static exceptions are the virtual-synth programs, which handily provide multisamples of classic oscillator shapes with long loop times for realistic drifting when playing chords. Morphology is as ideal for film work as it is a source of unique transitions for trance and house anthems; it's also great for brilliant backdrops or for quickly adding character to pop tunes.
— Jason Scott Alexander
ZERO-G (DIST. BY EAST WEST/SOUNDS ONLINE)
MORPHOLOGY > $219.95
At a glance: Versatile collection of animated textures, drones and effects. Hosted by NI Kompakt. Stand-alone or VST 2.0, DXi2, RTAS, Audio Units.
Contact: www.soundsonline.com
CONCRETEFX KUBIK 2.0
VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT
ConcreteFX has been creating VST plug-in synths and effects for some time on the PC platform, and the company recently released the second version of its popular Kubik wavetable sequencing synthesizer, a dual-oscillator synth that derives its wave shapes from a pair of assignable 64-wave step-sequenced wavetables. Nine types of oscillator combinations exist, including add, sub, mix, ring, FM, sync, waveshaper, sample and hold and PWM (pulse-width modulation). For each oscillator, you select a filter from 12 different resonant types: 12 and 24dB lowpass, highpass, bandpass and notch; formant; comb; ring; and tuned noise. Submenus reveal eight highly flexible 32-step envelopes, eight multiwave LFOs, four general-purpose modulator LFO/controllers and complete mod matrix, an advanced partial waveform editor, WAV-file import support, dual multi-effects processors and much more. Kubik is so ridiculously deep that not even a full-length review could ever do it true justice.
Kubik sounds both familiar and new and often radical, but it is entirely engrossing and always musical — which is perhaps the highest compliment a synth can receive. Similar to the Waldorf MicroWave and PPG wavetable synths, the Kubik is all about sophisticated, moving pad and lead sounds that change over time. It treads not into vector-synthesis territory, per se, but you can easily persuade that effect out of it if you wish. The nearly 300 wave shapes and 500-plus exciting presets included cover a lot of ground, and the clean-line aesthetics of the user interface make tunneling through a labyrinth of parameters relatively painless. Kubik is a solid and insanely advanced piece of code with a distinguished sound, and, amazingly, it's priced only slightly higher than shareware.
— Jason Scott Alexander
CONCRETEFX
KUBIK 2.0 > $60 (PAYPAL OR SHAREIT)
At a glance: Wavetable sequencing synthesizer. Windows VSTi only.
Contact: www.concretefx.com
BEST SERVICE ARTIST GROOVES
SESSION DRUM LOOPS
A natural follow-up to last year's Artist Drums release, which presented original drum kits from four of the world's best drummers, Artist Grooves sees the virtuoso timekeepers back in the studio to pound out 1.1 GB of complementary loops and fills on the same hardware, this time wrapped in NI's Intakt host. Recorded and mixed at Galaxy Studios, Belgium, session players Simon Phillips (Toto, Jeff Beck, The Who), Dennis Chambers (Santana, Steely Dan), Kenny Aronoff (Joe Cocker, Mick Jagger, Ricky Martin) and Mel Gaynor (Simple Minds, Tina Turner, Robert Palmer) lay down the slickest and most innovative-sounding rock, pop and Latin-influenced goods you're likely to hear anywhere. Arranged by tempo, from 80 to 160 bpm in 10 bpm increments, each of the main beats is accompanied by construction-kit-style breakouts of kick and snare, hi-hat variations and a couple of different ride patterns. Each of these construction programs contains a single two-bar loop of said instrument, as well as Intakt “beat-machined” slices for each hit, which allow you to easily customize the loops. As far as the main grooves go, each drummer plays a small but diverse selection of two-bar loops in every tempo category, chromatically spread across an octave, followed by a another octave's worth of compatible breakdowns, fills, endings and turnarounds. I found some of the coolest patterns in the higher tempos, so thanks to Intakt's outstanding tempo synchronization and time stretching, you can adapt them to your track.
The 24-bit samples sound simply stunning: full of color and great room balance. And, of course, the playing is second to none and packed with originality, inspiration and flair. Taken straight, Artist Grooves is crisp and punchy and never strays too far from tight commercial-track appeal, though you can quickly roughen the edges with processing. At just under two bucks a groove, though, the sticker may scare off some.
— Jason Scott Alexander
BEST SERVICE (DIST. BY EAST WEST/SOUNDS ONLINE)
ARTIST GROOVES > $199.95
At a glance: Killer loops and fills covering wide range of tempos. Played by four top session drummers. Hosted by NI Intakt. Stand-alone or VST, DXi, RTAS, Audio Units.
Contact: www.soundsonline.com
PIONEER DJM-909
DJ BATTLE MIXER
Remix originally reviewed the Pioneer DJM-909 back in October 2004. That review noted some issues with the unit's metering section and overall sound quality. When assigning reviews, we often send out a second unit or a duplicate piece of software to see how one reviewer's experiences may or may not be different from another's. We invite you to compare this review with the original, which can still be found on our Website.
The name Pioneer is synonymous with DJ gear and rightfully so. Pioneer has made major contributions to the world of mixing, including tempo detection and beat synchronization, and the company's products have been the driving force behind introducing CD mixing into the mainstream. Pioneer's most recent entry in the realm of mixers is the DJM-909. This is a crowning achievement in terms of DJ mixing — truly the pinnacle. I put this mixer through its paces to see if it deserves all the hype.
The obvious eye-popping feature that grabs your attention immediately with this mixer is the touch screen at the top. It's used mainly to control and tweak the unit's 50 internal effects, but it also serves as a display of tempo, fader curves and other important information. Among the unique capabilities of this mixer in terms of effects is that the faders can be used to tweak effect parameters. Fifty effects are available for each channel, so two different effects can be used on two different channels simultaneously. Also, this mixer is the first with adjustable crossfader curves, which can really enhance the quality of scratching. Another industry first featured in this mixer is the ability to attach a footswitch, which can be used to turn effects on and off.
I shot out this mixer against a couple of my old standbys, specifically my Numark CM100. I fed both mixers with signals from my American DJ DCD-Pro200 MKII CD players and a Technics 1200 turntable. I'm very accustomed to the appropriate gain structure with the Numark, my main road mixer, and I have always been able to get good-quality, distortion-free sound with it. I connected my CD players to the Pioneer mixer and started in. I played with the input-gain trim and both channel and master fader levels. With every conceivable gain structure, I found the quality to be excellent. I was able to force the unit to distort with extreme levels, but that's true of any mixer. The metering, however, is a little dodgy, sometimes indicating levels at which there should be no distortion, yet there was a bit. Although accurate metering is important, I have definitely learned throughout the years to trust my ears a lot more than my eyes. I found similar excellent performance with my turntable connected to this mixer. The 3-band EQ sounds marvelous, with frequencies centered at musically appropriate locations (70 Hz, 1 kHz and 13 kHz, respectively, for lows, mids and highs).
My remixing associate is a Pioneer DJM-500 user, so I asked him to compare the newer mixer with his. His main comment was that the sound quality of the DJM-909 was significantly better. But he was so enamored with the touch-screen-controlled effects, I nearly had to threaten him to get the mixer back! The reintroduction of a main output trim, as in some of Pioneer's older mixers, would be nice, enabling the user to make a de facto adjustment to the metering accuracy. Otherwise, the DJM-909 is a breakthrough product that will not just please but stun anyone who mixes for a living.
— John McJunkin
PIONEER
DJM-909 > $1,499
At a glance: Innovative touch-screen design. World-class effects. Sturdy design. Questionable metering. No main-output trim knob.
Contact: www.pioneerprodj.com
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