PC and Music News

In the pantheon of vintage analog drum machines, there's an unsung classic that isn't from a big name manufacturer like Roland or Korg, but from a toy company. Released in 1981, the Mattel Synsonics was an affordable black box that housed a fully analog kit consisting of kick, two toms, snare, cymbal and hi-hat - all playable via velocity sensitive pads.

Of course, since it was a "toy", few artists took it very seriously - with one notable exception: Kraftwerk.

Unlike the more insectile sounds coming from the Roland and Korg boxes of the same era, the sound of the Synsonics was vaguely reminiscent of the Simmons SDS-V or Pollard Syndrum. The toms had an aggressive vibe that few products from that time could match - and the cymbals were glorious blasts of white noise.

This weeks rack was created by sampling the harmonics produced by each string at the 5th, 7th, and 12th fret. The instrument comes set up with a macro knob that allows you to switch between the different samples, each of which has its own unique character. This allows for some cool effects, such as holding the sustain pedal and changing the sample while you play, which creates an interesting morphing timbre.

There's a macro knob that reverses the samples, creating a swelling, somewhat glitchy sound, not unlike those from some of my favorite psychedelic Beatles tracks (or my 3rd Ableton Live Rack: Reversed Piano"). I've also been experimenting with the Grain Delay plug-in more and more these days, and there are some macro knobs to control that effect.

If you are not a Live user, you can still use the samples included in the download.

Spectral Machine provides a wide variety of ear-catching audio effects. For example, users can freeze a sound, apply separate delays to different frequencies, or create multi-band tremolo effects. Spectral Machine also provides a number of effects specifically for monophonic sources, including pitch quantization and sine/noise decomposition.

Spectral Machine is available in VST and Audio Unit formats for Macintosh OS X, and in VST format for Windows. The cost is US $75.

As their name suggest, these templates are designed to let you import your own samples and access almost limitless sonic possibilities.
So forget about the static nature of your sample collections and give them a new life thanks to our TAE processing!

D.I.Y. Drum Template : optimized from all types of drum sounds, it includes analog modules such as Frequency Shifter, Filter Sweep, Reflector, and more. This template is guaranteed to bring a unique edge and character to your drums.
D.I.Y. FX Template : adapted to any kind of samples, this second template will allow you to process your signal through 16 unique effects such as : Stereo Expander, Robotizer, Frequency Modulator... so be ready for some wild experimentations!

PSP NobleQ combines the features of passive program equalizers with a wide range of frequency settings and extended functionality. To make this plug-in a versatile tool we added several modern features such as an adjustable high pass filter, and the ability to switch high peak and shelf filters to Boost or Attenuation operation.

The low shelf filter actually combines two shelving sections: the first one allows you to boost low frequencies while the other one attenuates them but is tuned slightly higher. Together they help to get a rich bottom end without low-midrange muddiness.

The high frequency range consist of two filters – a peaking filter with adjustable band width (usually set to Boost) and a shelf filter (usually set to Attenuate). Both filters interact in such a way that the more attenuation to high frequency is applied the more selective peaking filter becomes while keeping its center frequency similarly boosted.

Over 700Mb of logically segmented construction kits and one-shots, all set to a rim spinning tempo of 72 to 84 beats per minute are yours to keep and handle, all crafted with extra care, the experienced purveyor of all things deep and rolling, mastered to a tee and delivered in all major formats in 24bit for your sonic weapon of choice.

And it may be needless to say to a future Southside King, but everything in "Southside Kings" is absolutely 100% royalty-free!