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welcome

Amps up to 11 (and some)…

“I shot the sheriff,” they said. Well, you’ll wish they’d shot the Marshall instead

App watch

We report on the latest developments in phone and tablet music making

Get with the programmers

Our free plugin cover stars answer the programming questions that matter. Take it away Caelum Audio

COMPUTER music 10 years back

Our monthly shake-of-thehead at our younger selves’ news choices…

A free spring in your step

Juicy and unpredictable. We’re a little concerned with

15 questions with… JORJA CHALMERS

From learning piano at age five to teaching music in her teens, Jorja Chalmers was almost destined to be involved in music in some way. Yet even she couldn’t have predicted what followed, and now she has become an in-demand touring musician with the likes of Bryan Ferry and Take That, and a solo artist producing exceptional and mesmerising works…

PORTICO QUARTET

Portico Quartet’s quietly-brilliant fusion of jazz, world, electronica (and more) has landed them fans across the world, at least three record deals and a Mercury Music Prize nomination. It’s not been an easy ride, but with a new album just out (and another on the way), it’s time to pause, reflect and, well, hang…

CLASSIC SYNTH V SOFTSYNTH

This month, we grapple with the eternal question, the big Kahuna, the chicken and egg of the music tech world: classic synth versus softsynth…

Moog Minimoog

It is incredibly fitting that the very first synth for inspection and consideration in our battle of the platforms is arguably the most famous and desired of all monosynths. The Minimoog might not require introduction, but it is certainly worth considering why it garners the reputation that it does, while continuing to be a highly-inspirational object of desire for studio musicians, performers and enthusiasts alike. Enter the legend…

ARP Odyssey v GForce Oddity v ARP Odyssei

Our second mono to take on its equivalent desktop and iOS software is the ‘other’ 70s classic, the ARP Odyssey. This not only went toe to toe with the Minimoog in that decade, but featured in many a synth pop classic (thanks to just one man), and its forefathers even took on a bunch of aliens, twice… and won!

Roland SH-101

In the 1980s, the price of synthesisers started to plummet (albeit from a fairly astronomical height). One of the first and definitely the most famous – and one you could also wear – was produced by one of the big Japanese names cashing in on the synth craze, and became one of the most iconic monos ever. Enter the Roland SH-101…

MARSHALL JEFFERSON

The Godfather of House has been locked in his studio with his computer for over a year. The result? Some new music from Ten City, and their first single in 25 years! Jefferson marshalls the troops…

Ten crucial tracks… chosen by the Godfather of House

Acid Trax Phuture, 1987 I know this is

ADE FENTON

As Gary Numan’s producer, Ade Fenton can take some credit in the electronic pioneer’s recent return to the top of the album charts. Here, Fenton reveals the process behind this collaboration and the multiple synths in his own setup: “I’m a massive gear whore with a gazillion plugins!”

#04 Robot rock with Oscillator Sync

One of the most ubiquitous synth patches, synonymous with synths like the ARP Odyssey, requires the use of syncing oscillators…

#12 Maximise your key parameters

Make the most of velocity, aftertouch and keyboard tracking

Bitwig Bitwig Studio 4 €379

Bitwig Studio has always been an innovative and impressive DAW, but will version 4 bring it the audience it richly deserves?

EastWest Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Ed. $695/$795

Powered by a state-of-the-art new engine, EastWest’s refined orchestral suite aims to deliver total cinematic wonder right out of the box…

Cinesamples Continuum Guitars $299

Finding flexible, inspiring guitar sounds can be tough for desktop musicians. Enter Cinesamples with its recipe for seamless strumming

Synchro Arts VocAlign Ultra £342

Editing and aligning audio can be time-consuming but this newly updated industry standard could make your life considerably easier

Focusrite FAST Plugins £5.99/month/plugin

If you’re looking for quick results with minimal fuss, this new range of plugins from Focusrite could be an ideal option. Clue is in the name…

Pulsar Digital 1178 €149

An emulation of a classic compressor with added extras always gets our attention, but will this new 1178 get your pulse racing?

Hit ’n’Mix RipX: DeepRemix £79

Another app attempts to take your song and split it into its multitrack parts. But this one claims to do it better and do more with the results

Soundware round-up

Vadim Tropical Dancehall £34.95 DJ Vadim has been

Soundware round-up

Zenhiser Flash £34 Oh, my. This knee-trembling set

Free software FLUX MINI CM

The lovely folk at Caelum Audio have created a bespoke plugin just for Computer Music readers. Here’s how to download and use it!

New old samples!

We’re going ‘vintage’ this month with two packs of all-new synth samples. You can get both packs on the DVD or download direct at filesilo.co.uk

5 Vintage packs!

Not one but FIVE sample packs from the mighty Vault, as we revisit past issues and grab the best bits for some classic beats. A complete vintage rewind!

Loopmasters 298 samples

01 Loopmasters Wh0’s House 02 Alliant Audio Future

Sample Market samples

Another round of showcase samples from Sample Market