More updates on the Voltage-Controlled Refill for Propellerhead Reason

I mentioned a while back that I was working on a Refill for Propellerheads popular music creation platform Reason. I'm aiming to get  about 2GB worth of multisampled instruments for the refill recorded, I've already got about 500mb so I've still got quite a length to go before I can upload it for you lot.

I'm mostly recording sounds from my Korg R3 hardware synthesiser for the refill but throwing in a few patches in from some of my other synths (Microkorg, AG-10, MC-303, FB838, etc).

I've also tried recording some multisamples from a few iPad synths (mainly Animoog) but because I'm using a cheap camera connection kit (eBay, 99p) for midi input the apps keep crashing. I might have to invest in an iRig midi (or something similar). An Alesis iOdock would be ideal but I really cant afford to be splashing out that much at the moment as I've just updated my studio set up to include a brand new set of KRK RP8 studio monitors, a new hard drive and a second screen. So don't hold your breath for iOS synth multisamples in this first Refill, although it is something that I'd like to be doing in the future.

As I do with the samples that I upload here, I'll be giving this Refill away for free. It'll be royalty free and you'll be able to use them free of charge in whatever project you want. However if you like the samples and want to give something back to the site there's a donation button in the right hand side-bar, Voltage-Controlled makes near to no money at all from the ads so any donation from you guys would help the site greatly.

I can assure you that these multisamples are very usable, in fact I've already used them in a few projects of my own. You might have remembered me posting a track on here called Barflair that I wrote for a friends film project. Well that piano sound that I used was taken from the refill that I'm working on. The original sound was taken from the Korg AG-10 sound module which uses ai2 synthesis to create its patches. I've embedded the track below so you can have a listen.

Keep an eye out for future updates,
-Dan.

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More details of Reason Rack Extensions

If you're like me then you're anxiously waiting for the release of Propellerhead Reason 6.5 along with the Reason store where you can buy Rack Extensions. Well the good folks at Propellerhead software have revealed some more details about the upcoming update.

Pulsar and Polar are two devices that will be available in the Propellerhead store from day one. Pulsar will be a dedicated LFO tool that doubles as a basic synthesiser and Polar will be a harmonizer/pitch-shifter effect.

The idea of Pulsar being a dedicated LFO tool for the Reason rack is big news for someone like me, it means that I will no longer have to load up an instance of Subtractor to use its LFO CV out (which I find myself doing a hell of a lot). A dedicated LFO module has been at the top of my Reason wishlist for years, so depending on its features and price that will be my first purchase that I will make from the Propellerhead store.

I'm not so sure about Polar though, depending on its features it could be pretty cool but to be honest I've never been a fan of pitch-shifting and harmonizing effects. Although creative CV/audio routing options could make this a pretty nice addition for the Rack.

Along with announcing Pulsar and Polar, Propellerhead also uploaded some audio demos of their new "Radical Piano" module. You can listen to them below.



There's a whole list of things that I hope to be seeing from the Rack Extension store, from the obvious new synths to some basic modules that help with productivity, routing and work flow. For example, one thing that I think Propellerhead could have improved is the the audio/CV splitter modules. I use these splitter modules religiously for basic tasks such as duplicating a kick drum signal so that I can send it to various different compressors for side chaining. There's never enough outputs on the splitters so I always find myself linking about 3-4 splitters together. Maybe this could be something that would turn up in the Rack Extension store, an audio/CV splitter with 20-odd outputs.

That is just a basic example of how the Rack Extension store could offer a whole new Reason experience. What else could turn up in the store? What modules are you hoping to come across when the 6.5 update rolls out?

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Recreating a bassline in ableton live - Point Blank

"Go to: http://www.pointblankonline.net/courses/ableton-live-courses.php to check out our range of online Ableton Live courses where you can learn more sound design techniques like this. Please get in touch with our course advisors at advice@pointblankonline.net if you want to find out more.

In this Ableton tutorial Danny J Lewis (Defected/Enzyme Black) reverse engineers the bumpy bassline in the 2011 club anthem Noir & Haze - Around (Solomun remix) 
Out to the original artists. You can buy the release here:http://www.beatport.com/#/release/around/378135"

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Robot Drums emulating Propellerhead Figure - Point Blank

This is a pretty cool idea; the folks over at Point Blank have put together a video showing you how to create a rack in Ableton Live that gives you a Propellerhead Figure style of drum sequencing. This is a cool way of finding some inspiration and creativity when coming up with drum patterns. Check out the video below.



"http://www.pointblankonline.net/courses/ableton-live-courses.php to check out our range of online Ableton Course where you can learn more techniques like this. Please get in touch with a course advisor at advice@pointblankonline.net if you want to find out more.

In this tutorial Danny J Lewis shows you how to create a rack that emulates the mechanics behind the way the drum patterns switch in the recently released 'Figure' app. 

Please subscribe to our channel to make sure you don't miss future exclusive tutorials from Point Blank Online school."

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Free 1GB+ sample pack from Loopmasters

To celebrate LoopMasters releasing their 100th artist series sample pack they have teamed up with Computer Music magazine to offer their Facebook fans a free 1GB+ sample library featuring samples found in every artist series pack from LoopMasters.

You can download the free sample pack from the Computer Music Facebook page here.

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Akai Pro show of their new MPC softwear

As some of you know Akai (who are responsible for the legendary MPC samplers) earlier this year announced a handful of new products. Among these was the very interesting looking MPC fly (an iOS app developed by Retronyms), the MPC Renaissance and the MPC Studio. The Renaissance and Studio are both midi controllers designed to be used in conjunction with Akai's new MPC software (Sort of like Native Instruments Machine).

Until now we were somewhat kept in the dark about this software but Akai have just released a video overview of the MPC software and I have to say, it looks pretty impressive.

One thing that isn't quite clear though is whether you need the controllers to use the soft wear or whether you could use the soft wear on it's own with another controller. If this is possible then this could be a very affordable solution for beginners to music making and live performances. Coupling the MPC software with a dirt cheap pad controller (say the Korg NanoPad) could be a very convenient compromise for some people. Even though this would be a pretty cool feature I'm not going to be holding my breath.

Anyway, here's the video from Akai.

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New music now up on the site

Here's a link to my new release, it's a house track that I've been working on for a film project that a friend of mine is doing. Hopefully the finished film will be up on the internet sometime soon but until then you can get the music from the Voltage-Controlled music page.

The link in the right-hand sidebar that says 'music' now redirects to "music.voltage-controlled.com" instead of "music.dan303.com". It's still the same site but I thought that I'd change the domain to work better with the flow of the site. I've also changed the banner on the music page to match the one on the main site.

It's been a while since I've done any house music but I'm quite pleased how this one's come out. I can't wait to see how the finished film looks and hopefully the music will work well. I've also uploaded a remix that I did; it has sort of a moombahton feel to it.

It's free to listen to the tracks online but if you want to put them on your iPod and feel like donating a little cash to Voltage-Controlled.com then you can buy both tracks for just £1.99. Check it out, I've embedded the music player below.

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