ONE-SHOTS
Aug 1, 2005 12:00 PM, By Jason Scott Alexander
REFX VANGUARD 1.2
VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT
Gaining a rabid legion of fans across Europe in a little more than a year since its original release, Vanguard has recently undergone some notable updates, including several anticipated enhancements and new features that should make trance enthusiasts everywhere sit up and take notice. Often compared with the aggressive-natured Access Virus and silky Nord Lead sounds, Vanguard begins with three optionally alias-free oscillators, each with 31 different waveform types — including all of your typical, classic analog straight-wave fare; specialized waves such as combed square, tri/saw morph and triple-PWM; and several uncommon digital-oscillator types such as fm pulse, C64 noise and r2d2. A max of 32 voices of polyphony get treated by three flexible LFOs, a single resonant filter with 13 different types and varying slopes, dual ADSR envelopes with several modulation targets and an amplifier section with overdrive.
I was at first dismayed that an “advanced-VA” synth could get by with only a single filter, but thanks to some cool combined-filter variations and fresh modulation options, I soon discovered that you can seriously mangle the sound in pretty unconventional ways. The arpeggiator is straightforward and easy to use, and it can span across four octaves. Picking up where the arp leaves off is a vastly improved version of the now-infamous Vanguard Trancegate, a 16-step pattern sequencer that can be run in mono or independent-stereo trigger modes with trigger contour and wet mix-in control. It can also be synched to host play position instead of tempo — very nice. Built-in effects include four types of delay and a dutiful reverb. Handy master bypass buttons up top can cut effects or arp activity at any time, and all temporal effect parameters will sync to host. If you're into trance, Vanguard must reside in your plug-in folder.
REFX
VANGUARD 1.2 > $89.99
At a glance: VST plug-in for PC and VST, Audio Units for Mac (Mac OS 10.2 or higher)
Contact: www.refx.net
SAMPLE ARENA VOL. 6: INDUSTRIAL TOOLKIT
SAMPLE COLLECTION
Aptly appearing on this page, Industrial Toolkit is a library of true one-shots delivering quasi-industrial sound effects and snappy sound bites that cover a lot of ground. Huge in size and numbers, the WAV-format CD-ROM I auditioned was packed with 580 MB of material across 2,923 samples. Some of the 46 sound categories seemed token, containing only one or several sounds that didn't really seem to offer the kind of substance required to deserve space on a production-toolkit CD.
The sounds go beyond the industrial-goth chic that you've become accustomed to, balancing favored dark and sinister analog basses, drones, alarms, sirens and atmospheres with more whimsical and environmental oddities such as quirky, animated mechanical sounds, glitchy circuits and machinery, processed guitars and drum grooves, skippy vinyl scratches — you get it. Some of the glitch categories feel half-baked; still other categories, such as Drop and Doors, provide amazing alternatives to traditional kick and percussion sounds. The Grooves folder feels out of place on a disc of this nature, containing 50 been-there-done-that, generic old-school loops that lack any particular direction or inspiration. The SynFX categories (straight and looped) are very cool, providing some good foundations for trip-hop, minimalist and IDM styles. More than just industrial, Industrial Toolkit is a sound-effects library with a penchant for programming unusual-sounding beats.
SAMPLE ARENA
VOL. 6: INDUSTRIAL TOOLKIT > $30
At a glance: Tons of snappy one-shot industrial sounds well-suited to groove building. WAV, AIFF, audio CD.
Contact: www.samplearena.com
ZERO-G BEATS WORKING IN CUBA
MULTITRACK CUBAN PERCUSSION
To be honest, I was surprised this concept hadn't been done before. It wasn't until I was digging around for some sizzling Latin-flavored percussion that I discovered the hole: I needed individual multitracks of really authentic native-sounding grooves. I thought I was destined to try to pull off a virtuoso's feat using sampled kit sounds played in by hand; then, along came Beats Working in Cuba, the secret weapon I'd been looking for (because not everyone carries Cuba's finest percussionists around in their back pocket, you know). BWIC's producers were assisted in Havana by Raphael Santos and Marisol Alfonso Perez to assemble more than 8 GB of outstanding 24-bit source recordings.
The two-DVD set is Native Instruments Intakt — powered and installs in either stand-alone or plug-in format. Thirteen prime Afro-Hispanic rhythmic styles are represented, each covering roughly 30 to 40 multitracked jam-session loops lasting two bars in length and ranging from the 84 bpm slow-groove Boleros to the uptempo Conga Habanera and Conga Moderna. Each loop is split into individual instruments such as bongos, congas, drums, hi-hats, kicks, snares, maracas and so forth. Various microphone feeds (Live, L, R, LS, RS and so on) are given for select percussion instruments and groupings, with each track provided in Intakt's Beat Machine mode for greatest flexibility. Many banks of individual hits are also provided at the bottom of each category. The playing is superb and ridiculously infectious, and the true source of the recordings is unmistakable.
ZERO-G
(DIST. BY EAST WEST/SOUNDS ONLINE)
BEATS WORKING IN CUBA > $399
At a glance: A definitive collection of Latin rhythm tracks. NI Intakt — hosted. Stand-alone or VST 2.0, DXi, RTAS, Audio Units.
Contact: www.soundsonline.com
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