> make music now / plugin suite v2.0

We’ve updated the CM Plugin Suite with new titles and have stripped some of the older and less functional titles out. Here’s our guide to some of the best new additions of what is still the greatest free resource in the world for music producers (and one which still comes free with this very magazine!)

Providing free content is very much part of our DNA here at Computer Music. Over the years we’ve tried our very best to bring you quality sounds and practical tools that you can use within your DAWbased music making.

Nevertheless, many of the CM Suite plugins have been around for quite some time and although some have achieved classic status (Synapse Audio’s Dune CM and EaReckon’s CM-COMP87 to name just two), some no longer support current operating systems. This has been particularly problematic for Mac users, with the shift to 64-bit only, and authentication issues for the last couple of OS versions. Recently, we’ve been working hard with the developers to get problem plugins updated. This process has given us a chance to reevaluate the CM Suite and appreciate what’s included, and this got us thinking. In this month’s cover feature we’ve cherry picked 10 of the best plugins and we’ll show you some of their great features.

First up, the synths. We’re proud of the synths in the CM Suite. Often based on existing designs but with the more complex features stripped out, they don’t compromise on sound quality and are sourced from some of the best developers in the business.

For example, Urs Heckman (of u-he, a company well represented in the Suite), is an awesome developer who’s been designing synths and effects for over 20 years. He focuses on designs that he and his team would want to use and this could explain why they find favour amongst the most demanding users. He has made two brilliant contributions to the CM Suite -Zebra CM and Bazille CM – and both are amazingly capable offerings based on his workhorse and modular synths.

Synapse Audio, as another example, burst onto the synth instrument scene over 10 years ago with Dune, a supremely capable synth that’s super easy to program. They’ve gone on to produce some more great instruments, and Dune is now at version 3. Our own version, Dune CM, remains a great synth.

“It’s an Aladdin’s cave, which makes picking favourites tricky”

If modular is your thing, Fathom CM from Seaweed Audio should definitely be on your audition list. Recently updated to version 3.6 with some new features, its drag and drop methodology and signal flow visuals keep things nice and simple.

Cable Guys is a developer we have a lot of time for, and their plugins often employ intuitive graphic interfaces. It’s the same story with their Curve 2 CM synth, which is both visually engaging and operationally creative.

For a slightly different take on oscillator editing, Thorn CM has some surprising tricks up its sleeve. Designed by Belarus-based developer Dmitry Sches, this slimmeddown version of the Thorn Spectral Polysynth is still very capable, with some fabulous real time manipulations and core editing options.

CM Suite is an Aladdin’s cave of effects plugins, which makes picking favourites a tricky challenge. We’ve chosen some recent ones and some classics. Baby Audio Baby Comeback is a wonderfully simple delay plugin based on Baby Audio’s Comeback Kid. Its delay features are coupled with some excellent one-switch flavour options, making it ideal for characterful delays. Meanwhile, Caelum Audio Flux Mini CM is a flexible graph-based effect with low and high-pass filters, panning and amplitude.

EaReckon has both a compressor and EQ plugin in the CM Suite and it’s the latter, CM-EQUA 87, we’re using here. Based on a traditional desk channel design, it’s both powerful and incredibly easy to use.

Finally, Audified Tonespot CM is a multi effects processor based on Audified’s many Tonespot processors. Its simple preset-based design has minimal controls, making it ideal for achieving quick results.

Remember, the CM Suite is available online here https://www.filesilo.co.uk/ComputerMusic/, and all you need to get the plugins is your copy of Computer Music. As ever if you like the CM versions of these plugins, why not take a look at the developer sites for more?

u-he Bazille CM

> Step by step 1. Get to know Bazille CM’s wave options

1 u-he describe Bazille as their ultimate geek machine and our CM version is similarly blessed. The modular design is pretty easy to spot. Less obvious is that it actually combines two digital oscillators with an analogue modelled filter. It also has some rather excellent features, a couple of which we’ll look at now.

2 Load up a fresh instance of Bazille CM and click in the data display at the top to reveal presets from the currently selected folder. Select the Init preset at the bottom. This basic preset has Osc 1 connected to Out 1. Play this and you’ll see the oscilloscope displays the waveform of the sound.

3 The modules in Bazille CM include signal flow indicators, and to make connections you just drag between sockets. The outputs are red and inputs grey, and you can connect an output to multiple inputs, but each input only receives one connection. Connecting to an ‘in use’ input replaces the existing one.

4 Bazille CM’s oscillators start with a basic sine wave, and this is modified to create more complex shapes. Osc1 has a Phase knob and a PD knob. For phase distortion select one or two wave types under the PD knob and apply the phase distortion amount with the PD knob.

5 For an FM-style configuration, connect the output of Osc2 to the input modulation socket, left of the Phase knob. The knob above the socket controls the amount and above it you can choose phase and frequency modulation options. Set to PM Medium for typical FM sounds.

6 Bazille CM includes a Mapping Generator with up to 128 steps, with reshaping modulation sources one possibility. But selected in the oscillator section, you can use it for a specific shape. Click TapMap1 just below the PD section to replace the sine wave as oscillator source.

7 Now click the Mapping Generator window to open its focus window. Right click the window and choose the Shapes sub menu where you’ll find oscillator styles. Note that the lower resolution means these don’t sound as smooth as the core Cosine and do have some aliasing.

8 The final oscillator aspect to consider is Fractalize. This packs multiple cycles of the current waveform into another wave (Saw, Tri or Max). The right hand knob defines how many cycles of the original wave are used and next to this is the wave type selector (Saw, Tri or Max).

9 To see how this works, check the oscilloscope. We’ve rolled back to the core sine wave, selected Saw and the number to about 3. The oscilloscope is handy here. Set oscilloscope Frequency to -4.60 and play note A. See the overall sawtooth shape. Adjust the right hand knob and see the changes.