welcome

If you were to believe the various platitudes and tributes

New IK Multimedia gear

IK Multimedia have had a busy few weeks, announcing a

Akai MPC Beats

Groovebox specialists Akai have released a free DAW, giving easy

MeldaProduction MSuperLooper

Looking to take software-based live looping to the next level,

XILS-Lab X201

The latest classic hardware curio to get the XILS-Lab emulation treatment

cm/backchat

Glad to hear you are bringing back Reader Music*. It’s

Native Instruments Stradivari Violin

Solo acoustic instruments are notoriously difficult to recreate as playable

App watch

Roman Fischer’s Hypertron takes inspiration from samplers, sequencers and drum

Spitfire Audio Symphonic Motions

The latest addition to Spitfire’s Symphonic series of sample-powered instruments

WA Production Orchid

An 80s-style “chorus on steroids”, WA Production’s new plugin doubles-down

Impact Soundworks inSIDious

The retro appeal of the legendary Commodore 64 home computer’s

UVI IRCAM Solo Instruments 2

Thought NI’s Stradivari Violin seemed ambitious? Get a load of

Ins &outs

Even if you’re just posting snippets on SoundCloud, you still

Audified Sphene Pro

Seemingly a spin-off of their excellent Tonespot series of instrument-specific

10years back

He may have scored two UK number one singles in

15 questions with… SARA SIMMS

Sara Simms’s star is rising rapidly in the world of

15 questions with… HARRISON

Vocalist, DJ, producer and major star collaborator Harrison has made

The Ultimate Beats Collection!

Drum and cymbal hits, kits and loops. It’s the ultimate

MEDUZA

Meduza are a trio of producers from Italy - Luca

ELECTRONIC BEATS

If you want ‘real’ drums, then go pick up a

DRUM SEQUENCING ESSENTIALS

With countless excellent sample libraries just a few clicks and

PROGRAMMING SYNTH DRUMS

Synthesised drums are such an integral part of today’s music

Getting creative with sampled beats

Using prefab drum loops to quickly make beats is probably

MIXING BEATS

So far in this Electronic Beats special, we’ve shown you

DUSTY KID

Sardinian-born DJ and producer Dusty Kid - aka Paolo Alberto

AMPED STUDIO 2

Amped Studio 2 is one of a new breed of

Crafting a bassline

Bass is not only the foundation of a piece of

The Filter - pt 2

Last issue we looked at the many functions of a

PreSonus Studio One 5 £344

As with previous iterations, Studio One 5 comes in two

D16 Syntorus 2

Polish developer D16 produce some of the finest analogue emulations

Frankly weird plugins

What can only be described as a found-sound drum machine,

Novation Launchkey Mk3 £var

The original Novation Launchkey arrived back in 2013, a solid

Toontrack EZbass£129

Toontrack‘s EZdrummer 2 (10/10,cm 205) and EZkeys (various scores for

Plugin Boutique Scaler 2 £50

Plugin Boutique’s rather brilliant compositional assistant plugin, Scaler, automatically detects

Soundware round-up

Minimal house is the subject of NI’s latest Expansion, giving