BA-1 The first proper analog-modeled emulation of the CS01, a beloved and cultish 1982 monosynth!

Review video of BA-1 synth!

Watch my video review of BA-1 and listen to the warm analog glory!

Want to try the BA-1 synth for free? Get it via the link below. The trail version will insert 5 sec of silence every 60 seconds.

– The Essence of Analog Bliss –

BA-1 is the Yamaha CS01…but polyphonic, and with effects!

YAMAHA CS01 from 1982 is a wonderful little portable synth. BA-1 makes a perfect emulation of the CS01 and takes the synth to new territories with “battery control”, polyphony and a classic analog “budget” effects section.

Yes, the original CS01 was monophonic, but you can also flip a switch on BA-1 if you want to make it sound mono like the classic!

Speaker emulation

Even the speaker emulation from the CS01 is included in the BA-1 synth, so you can flip a switch and instantly get that sweet lofi sound!

Embracing the Warmth

The BA-1 synth captures the essence of vintage analog warmth in a digital age. Its meticulously crafted sound engine and careful attention to detail ensure that every note you play resonates with a beautiful, organic warmth that is reminiscent of classic analog synths. Say goodbye to sterile and lifeless sounds— the BA-1 brings your music to life with its authentic analog character. And if that’s not enough, degrade/reduce the battery amount and make the sound sparkle (fuzz) even more!

A Journey Through Time

To truly appreciate the BA-1 synth, let’s take a moment to delve into the rich history of analog synthesis. From the iconic Minimoog to the legendary Roland Jupiter-8, analog synths have shaped the sonic landscape of countless genres. Baby Audio pays homage to these timeless instruments, incorporating their iconic sonic qualities into the BA-1, making it a gateway to the magic of vintage soundscapes.

Intuitive User Interface

Whether you’re a seasoned producer or just starting your musical journey, the BA-1’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to navigate and create stunning sounds. With intuitive controls and clear visual feedback, you’ll spend less time tweaking parameters and more time immersing yourself in the creative process.

Oscillators unleashed

The BA-1 synth features dual oscillators, each offering a wide range of waveforms. From the classic sawtooth and square waves to rich triangle and pulse waves, the oscillators provide a versatile foundation for crafting unique sounds. Experiment with detuning and blending the oscillators to achieve fat, lush tones or create intricate harmonics that will captivate your listeners.

Sonic Shaping

To truly shape your sound, the BA-1 synth offers a suite of built-in effects. Add grit and character with the distortion module, create lush textures with the chorus effect, or immerse your sounds in a rich, spacious environment with the reverb. These effects provide the perfect finishing touches to polish your sounds to perfection.

The post Unleash Analog Magic with the BA-1 Synth appeared first on Morningdew Media.

OMEGA demo song #3 – Future Bass

OMEGA demo song #2 – Summer Chill

OMEGA demo song #1 – MEGA DRIVE

Take a listen to the first demo song, MEGA DRIVE (synthwave), which was produced solely with presets from the Vital Mega Presets Pack.

In the Vital preset demo, MEGA DRIVE you will discover everything from the lush pads, majestic leads, analog basses, the heavy kick, snare and crisp cymbal… and finally the ethnic koto string instrument!

Vital Presets Pack – Omega

Production Ready Instrument and Synth Presets for VITAL with FREE lifetime updates.

Includes Lush Pads, Deep Basses, Beautiful Keys, Soaring Leads, Beautiful Ethnic Instruments (Koto), Percussion and Analogue Style Synths, Synthesized Kicks, Snares and Claps, China Cymbal + much more. In conclusion, these patches are highly responsive and include sweet macro controls to help you sculpt your sound.

OMEGA Vital Presets Pack Contents

• Presets bank with +80 Presets
• Demo song – MEGA DRIVE, SUMMER CHILL
• Install instructions

Lifetime Free Updates – When I release more patches and sounds to this Vital pack you will get them for free!

Digital download with free lifetime updates.
Current version: 1.5 – 2022-05-30, manual includes changelog

Requirements

To use the presets you will need:

• Vital v1.0.7 VST/AU or higher (download Vital here)
  Please note: The Vital VST/AU plugin is not included.

– CLICK HERE TO VIEW LIST OF INCLUDED PRESETS –

Preset Sound Previews

How to install the OMEGA Vital Presets

I highly recommend you watch the installation video above which clearly shows how to install Vital preset banks.

Vital Presets Install Instructions Manual

0. Navigate to your download folder and unzip the “OMEGA Vital Presets“-folder.
1. Load your DAW (Logic, Studio One, Ableton Live, Bitwig etc.)
2. Insert the Vital plugin on a track in your DAW 2. Open the Vital user interface.
3. In Vital select the MENU (hamburger icon at the top-middle).
4. In the MENU select “Import Bank“.
5. Navigate to your download folder and find the OMEGA folder you unzipped earlier.
6. Select the “Mattias Holmgren OMEGA.vitalbank” file and select Open.
7. Vital will now import and create a new preset folder called “Mattias Holmgren OMEGA”.
8. In the preset browser of Vital select the “Mattias Holmgren OMEGA”-folder and choose a preset to load from the list of presets.
9. DONE!

The post Vital Presets Pack – OMEGA appeared first on Morningdew Media.

Most commonly you hear the sidechain effect where the sidechain is used to lower the volume of instruments (often the bass / synths) when the kick hits. This will make the kick sounding louder, and ultimately the music will sound more tight and defined.

Here is a quick example where the bass and synths are sidechained against the kick.

It’s no secret that every EDM producer is using sidechaining among their primary mixing techniques.

The “volume sidechain effect” can be achieved in a multiple of ways.

Methods of sidechaining volume

1. You can use any compressor plugin with sidechain audio input feed.
2. Use a plugin which lowers / ducks your volume according to a curve.
3. Edit the audio track with volume automation to achieve the sidechain sound.

The most common sidechaining method is using a compressor

First of all let’s look at the most common way of sidechaining.

The most common way of sidechaining volume is using a compressor featuring a sidechain input. Every modern and professional DAW offer a compressor with this sidechain input option. This compressor plugin can either be applied to an individual track, or to a buss in your DAW.

How to sidechain audio in Logic Pro X

If we look at the Logic Pro X compressor plugin below. This native Logic compressor comes with sidechain input instantly available.

Importantly, you also get many options to tailor the sidechaining effect. You can also listen (preview) the sidechain input if you need to confirm the audio source. This means we have side chaining instantly accessible in Logic Pro X whenever we need it on a mixer track via the compressor plugin.

How to sidechain audio in FL Studio 20

FL Studio 20 takes a few more steps to make the side chaining happen. While Logics compressor can select any audio track as the side chain input directly, FL Studio requires you to route audio signals between tracks first.

Note: Yes, I know you can also use the Fruity Peak Controller to do sidechaining but that’s a more fiddly setup.

Firstly, in the image above we have channel 1 selected and right click on channel 8 cable input arrow at the bottom of the mixer strip. Select “Sidechain to this track”. We are now feeding channel 8 with a sidechain signal from the kick.

The mixer of FL Studio is very flexible and highly customizable. Although this extra “signal routing step” is required to set up side chaining.

Secondly, we add the Fruity Limiter as an insert effect to the bass (ch8). In the Fruity Limiter activate the Comp-tab at the bottom. Press the mouse button on-top of the SideChain value box and drag upwards to select SideChain Input 1.

Finally, if you set the compressor threshold to a lower value (-30db) and the Ratio to something like 7:1 you will start to see and hear the sidechaining effect.

In conclusion, the Fruity Limiter will now reduce the volume of the bass as soon as the kick hits. Your sidechain effect is completed!

The radio voice – background music sidechaining

Another common example of sidechaining is when DJs are talking over the music on the radio. When the DJ speaks, a limiter is activated upon the background music by the audio signal off the DJ talking. This causes the music to drop way down so that it doesn’t interfere with the speech. When the DJs finished talking, the silence on the voice track de-activates the limiter on the background music. The music will once again become the loudest part of the mix.

How to set up volume properly on side chained tracks

Want to learn how to set up volume properly on sidechained tracks? Then you can check this article where we discuss gain-staging and sidechain mixing. Importantly, in the article and video we discuss common problems when sidechaining audio.

What gear I use in the studio? Check out the Resources Page.

Join my exclusive community: https://www.patreon.com/gelhein

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Check out Beatmaker VICE at UJAM website.

UJAM, the company behind Beatmaker suite of plugins

UJAM is a software development company founded by the renowned Hans Zimmer and Pharrell Williams focusing on developing high quality plugins for music producers and composers. This is truly an exciting rooster of experts in cinematic sound design for film and media composition.

Beatmaker VICE – what’s in the plugin?

Straight out of the box, we can hear that Beatmaker VICE pays homage to the lovely 1980s drum machines from Roland, Korg, Linn etc.

Fans of Vangelis, Jean Michel-Jarre, Giorgio Moroder and Trevor Horn will feel right at home with the palette of sounds that VICE offers. While the major concept of VICE is to give you hands on access to excellent synthwave drum beats. It can also yield more modern and hyped drum sounds with ease.

The plug-in is comprised of 10 drum kits, 12 smart-mix presets with over 30 styles and 60 presets to play with. VICE is pre-loaded with 460 patterns to be used as segments of an arrangement. The patterns include intro, verse, chorus, fill, ending and so on.

It is a big plus that all the Beatmaker plugins have a similar design and layout. That makes it easy to get going if you know one of the Beatmaker plugins from before.

Beatmaker VICE comes as VST, AU and AAX plugins.

Retro Futurism – VICE presets for modern and retro synthwave

In VICE you will find three main categories of presets; Retro, Modern and Experimental. The presets will adjust between the various kits and smart-mix presets to give you instant access to specific settings.

The Beatmaker VICE presets includes mix settings with compression and saturation to balance and fit the beats into your songs.

Multi-output of individual drums in Beatmaker

Yes, in Beatmaker VICE you can select, per individual drum sound, if you want to included the drum in the main mix, or as a separate mix output. In conclusion, this gives you complete control if you want to mix and process the individual drum sounds in the DAW. Or let VICE make the perfect mix for you.

While the individual outputs can be fun and give you deep control, I personally think that the main stereo output and processing of Beatmaker VICE gives you a punchy and perfect drum sound.

If you want to learn more about how to produce and compose Synthwave you can check out my article and video on producing the track “Shields Up”.

Drag and drop midi loops

In the Beatmaker VICE plugin you find a huge array of midi loops which give you instant access to 80s inspired beats. The loops are excellent for making quick song arrangements.

The quickest way of working with VICE is to trigger these loops via the keyboard. It’s also possible to latch the loops. Latch works like an on/off switch function so you can activate or de-activate the playback of a loop. The latch is time synced to beats, and also makes sure no more than one midi-loop is active at any one given time.

If you want to edit these pre-made loops further you can always just drag / drop the loops unto your DAW arrangement.

Buy Beatmaker VICE at UJAM website.

Boost Your Productions – Pristine Sound Packs

The post Beatmaker VICE Synthwave plugin by UJAM appeared first on Morningdew Media.

We can all agree that side-chaining and volume gating is essential in music.

If you want a really impactful mix you need to balance that kick & bass to be just right! When done right the mix sounds much more powerful!

Dodge Pro review

I recently reviewed the Dodge Pro volume shaping plugin from W.A.Production which is a life-saver when it comes to side-chaining and rhythmical effects.

Dodge Pro handles everything from simple ducking, side-chaining to more complex multi-segment-envelopes. The plugin even features a multi-band processing setup so you can process each of three bands with a separate volume envelope curve! 

Buy Dodge Pro and use my affiliate link.

Multi-band volume envelopes in Dodge Pro

What makes Dodge Pro unique is the multi band split. Dodge pro can split your audio into three frequency bands and process each of these bands with a separate volume envelope.

This can create everything from interesting phasing effects to more profound rhythmical gatings if you use sharp envelopes.

Each band can be soloed, muted and level-adjusted. And the band split points can be adjusted via the graphical interface.

Dodge Pro also shows a level / gating meter for each band so you can easily see what’s going on with each band in your frequency spectrum.

Conclusion

Ducking, side-chaining and creating nice volume envelopes shouldn’t be tricky, and Dodge Pro lets us do this with ease. It’s not a heavy plugin on the CPU and you get one of the best volume envelope shapers (with multi-band support) for a bargain!

Buy Dodge Pro

Read more about side-chaining and mixing here.

And this article on how to side-chain properly.

What gear I use in the studio? Check out the Resources Page.

Join my exclusive community: https://www.patreon.com/gelhein

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Hexachords provides some tutorials for Studio One. But there is not really any tutorials on setting Orb Composer up with Logic Pro X. In conclusion, I thought I should give it a try and make a tutorial for you!

Install the Orb Composer apps

First install Orb Composer and the Orb Composer MIDI service app, these tools and tutorial for this installation part is provided by Hexachords. If you have questions on this installation part, please contact Hexachords. I am not affiliated with them in any way.

Orb Composer with Logic Pro X

You can download the Logic project template if you want the final setup we create in this tutorial to look at. But I highly suggest you just follow along and do it step by step. Because the Orb channels might differ in your Orb song setup, so you will have to edit those anyway in the Logic Midi Environment.

Furthermore, you also learn the process of working with the Midi Environment in Logic Pro X.

Firstly, let’s launch Logic.

Set up Logic to record multiple midi sources simultaneously on separate tracks

Now go into File->Project Settings->Recording.

Make sure to check that “Auto demix by channel if multitrack recording.” is ACTIVATED (see screenshot below).

Without this enabled your recorded midi will end up like: One main track as the major midi clip and the other channels will have an aliased copy of that same midi track. So midi data by channel will NOT be split among the tracks. Importantly, this option is crucial if you want to record many midi tracks from various midi sources simultaneously to separate tracks.

Look up the midi sent from Orb Composer

Ok, now we need to create a simple Orb Composer project. I created a simple orchestral song with a simple intro.

If the AI created many midi tracks in Orb Composer, just de-activate / delete / mute everyone except two tracks.

When you test this workflow you will go insane if you have too many tracks playing obnoxious irritating midi notes.

In this example I have two midi tracks in the Orb Composer intro. A piccolo and a flute. The piccolo is sending midi through the external midi device orb6 at channel 2. Importantly, write this down for further reference in the Logic Pro X setup. Something like:

• Piccolo = Orb6 ch2
• Flute = Orb6 ch 8

Creating instrument tracks in Logic to receive midi from Orb Composer

Create a few instrument tracks like in the image below. I create two tracks just to be able to verify that this workflow works properly before continuing and adding more tracks. The more stuff you have in your project, the harder it gets to debug. Keep things simple, trust me!

I also set the correct midi channel in the Kontakt Instrument, see image.

Set up Logic Midi Environment with Orb Composer midi devices

Ok, now open the Midi Environment in Logic Pro X. Shortkey: Cmd+0.

Create the following devices and move them as in the screenshot below:

• Physical Input device
• Monitor
• Sequencer Input

If you have the Orb Composer Midi service app installed on your Mac OSX system you should be able to see the various Orb midi devices in the Physical Input Device.

The Monitor Device is a great debug tool to see what kind of midi data Logic recieves on these various midi devices.

The Sequencer Input Device is needed to receive the actual midi data to the sequencer tracks in Logic Pro X. Without it you will not be able to record the incoming midi data.

Connect the Orb Composer Midi devices in Logic Pro X Environment

Let’s make the cable connections to continue this Orb Composer template setup in Logic Pro X.

We know that our Orb Composer track 1, the Piccolo, is sending on midi device Orb 6 Channel 2.

1. Drag a cable from the Orb6 node in the Physical Input Device to the Monitor Device.

2. Drag a cable from the Monitor Device to the Sequencer Input

If you now Record Enable the two instrument tracks Logic will receive the midi from Orb Composer on the correct tracks. You can press record and the midi data will be spread to the correct midi track.

So Orb Composer now talks with Logic Pro X?

Yes, but there is a catch. The catch is that without Record Enable the tracks will not be audible. Logic will simply not let the instruments receive the midi data without Record Enable.

And…you can’t yet record the midi onto the tracks in Logic Pro X!!!

There is a fix which requires some more extensive setup in the Logic Pro X Midi Environment.

This might, or might not bother you.

And if you want you can stop this tutorial here and be fine. But remember that you will always need to activate Record to be able to hear the incoming midi data.

Let’s explain the more extensive setup of Orb Composer in Logic Pro X Midi Environment.

HOW TO RECORD THE MIDI OF ORB COMPOSER INTO LOGIC PRO X

In order for your midi to be split onto the different instrument track after record you need to:

• Make sure “Auto demix by channel when multitrack recording” is active (yes, you already have this option “on”).

• Activate R – record on all the relevant track. Let the last active track (the track which turns “light grey”) you press be ANY of these active instrument channels. NOT on a muted track which does not receive any of the midi from Orb.
  
  If you leave the last active track to be the muted (non operating) midi channel. The split will not work.

Additional set up of Orb Composer in Logic Pro X

This part will explain how to make it possible to preview the Orb Composer midi in Logic pro X WITHOUT the Record Enable activate on the tracks.

Open up the Midi Environment again with shortkey CMD+0.

Let’s first explain the problem we are facing. Logic requires the Instrument tracks to be Record Enabled in order to hear the incoming midi data on the tracks, by default.

So we need some kind of routing to “force” the midi data into the Instrument tracks. This is possible with some extra routing and the Transformer Device in Midi Environment of Logic.

How to use the Transformer Device of Logic Midi Environment

With the Transformer Device you can transform and/or filter incoming midi data. So if we have incoming Midi Notes on channel 4 we could transform that to channel 8 instead. Quite handy if we want to do some really elaborate routing.

In this case we will use the Transformer Device as a midi splitter to filter a specific midi channel to one single instrument track.

Add two of these Transformer Devices in the Midi Environment.

We need one for the Piccolo (Orb 6 ch 2), and one for the Flute (Orb 7 ch 8).

1. Drag a cable from the Monitor Device (1) to the first Transformer Device (2) .
2. Drag a cable from the first Transformer Device (2) to your Piccolo Instrument Mixer Track (3).

Repeat the process for your second instrument, the Flute.

1. Drag a cable from the Monitor Device to the second Transformer Device.
2. Drag a cable from the second Transformer Device to your Flute Instrument Track.

Your routing should look something like this:

Now it’s time to setup the actual filtering for each of these tracks.

Transform “Operations” Panel

Double click the first Transformer Device, the one that is connected to the Piccolo. A new Operations popup page appears for the Transformer.

First set the operations Mode to “Apply operation and filter non-matching events.”

This basically means that this transformer will only let through data that matches your filtering condition.

So let’s set the Conditions Status to Equal (=) with value Note. And the Channel to Equal (=) with value 2. Yes, this is our flute coming from Orb 6 at channel 2. Close the Operations panel.

Repeat the process for the second Transformer, but select Channel 8 (Piccolo was incoming at Orb 6 channel 8)

The Orb Composer to Logic routing is now finished!

Now make sure Record Arm is de-activated on your tracks in Logic Pro X.

Enter Orb Composer application and press play.

If you go back to Logic Pro X you should now see both instrumental tracks receiving midi and playing back with the sampler. Even though the tracks Record Arm is de-activated. Our little midi-routing is working perfectly!

It’s by no means a simple solution, but it works. Now you can continue, repeat the process, and add all other midi tracks used in your Orb Composer song.

IMPORTANT – Regarding “clashing” midi channels in Logic Pro X when recording Orb Producer midi.

If you connect the “transformers” to the “Sequencer Input” in the Logic Environment, in order to record the midi data onto the tracks you need to know this!

Logic can NOT receive data on the same (overlapping) midi channels to the Sequencer Input.

Even if you send from different Orb midi devices (ie. Orb 1, Orb 2, Orb 3 etc.). It looks practical in theory and on paper, but in reality Logic receives the data to the sequencer like this:

Let’s say you have the following setup in Orb Composer:

• Orb 1 ch 5 – Flute

• Orb 2 ch 5 – Cello

Now in Logic Environment you will connect Physical Input -> Monitor -> Transform accordingly for both of these.

BUT, when you also do the connection to the Sequencer to audition the incoming midi it can’t distinguish those two channel 5 from each other.

In this scenario the flute and cello will trigger the same midi instrument in Logic Pro X.

In conclusion

In conclusion, you will have to “transform” these two ch5 into something like ch5 and ch 6 internally in the Logic environment (my advice: use the transform object) OR change this directly in Orb Composer (but then, if you swap arrangement, you will have to do this change every time). Not practical…

The end of the Orb Composer Logic Pro X tutorial

I hope you found this tutorial useful. If you found it helpful please subscribe to my Morningdew Media weekly newsletter, and also subscribe to my YouTube channel. Thanks!

If you want a quick showcase / overview of Orb Composer you can watch my video below.

What gear I use in the studio? Check out the Resources Page.

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In the Massive X review & first look video we listen to some presets and talk about the interface design of Massive X. We look at the various modules that make up the Massive X vst plugin instrument. I also give some creative feedback to the developers (Native Instruments) which would make Massive X more comfortable to work with.

Massive X Price – £179 | €199 | $199

Massive X review – The Synth Of The Future?

Native Instruments is marketing Massive X as the synths of the future with their tagline “What does the future sound like?”.

Firstly, the interface surely looks like something fresh and new. Secondly, the wavetables have been updated. The plugin also features multiple noise tables with a creative set of interesting sources. Furthermore, the filters have been updated and now includes some really great algorithms like SVF (State Variable Filters) and the Monark filter!

In conclusion, this truly makes way for a monster synth with such powerful features. Let’s continue and investigate the Massive X plugin.

Dual Wavetable Oscillators

Initially, Massive X comes with +170 wavetable oscillators sorted neatly into folders. While the original Massive came with one of the best sets of wavetables, I really feel the sound and quality of these updated wavetables really brings some fresh into play. Furthermore, you have a folder of “remastered” wavetables which sound really great too.

In the current version, v1.0, of Massive X it is not possible to import / export wavetables. But I’ve heard that Native Instruments is working on an update to support customisable wavetables.

Oscillator Effects In Massive X

Massive X features a new set of oscillator effects which can bend and mould your oscillator phase into oblivion. While the traditional Mirror, Bend and Warp is included, we also find a very potent effect in the Gorilla device. If you ever try the demo of Massive X, use a basic saw wave and modulate it with the Gorilla oscillator effect and ride the Bend knob. Wicked!

Massive X Goes Modular With The New Node Editor – Routing

Yes, finally there is a node editor where we visually can see the routing within Massive X. As stated above, looking at an image (node editor) is 100x more effective than looking at numerous (hard to read) knobs, values and faders to realize how a sound is made up within a synth.

As a matter of fact, I highly recommend visual node editors for any type of programming (yes, sound design is a sort of programming). One of my favourite DAWs, Bitwig Studio, comes with a native node based modular plugin called, The Grid (Poly Grid and FX Grid).

Read more about Bitwig Studio and watch videos about the modular Grid plugin.

The Massive X User Interface (UI/UX)

With Massive X the user interface has been designed with minimalism in mind. The interface instantly reminds me of the sleek white design of the OP-1 from renowned designers at Teenage Engineering (Sweden). Massive X features the same white design with some carefully splashes of colors. In the review video of Massive X, I put the OP-1 beside Massive X and they really go hand in hand with the colors and design. It’s like the hardware OP-1 synth gave birth to a software synth.

Navigating the modules and parameters

The minimal user interface in Massive X makes good use of the subtitles for the various sections and modules in the vst plugin. If a title has an underline, that means that you can click that title to bring up additional information about the module. Or sometimes replace the module with another variation. In the effect section it means that clicking the subtitle first will select the module and show it’s parameters. If you click again you will get the popup for replacing the module with another module.

At first the double functionality of the module-titles felt a bit odd. But I think that this is actually a very good solution to make good use of the module titles and get a less cluttered interface. Great work Native Instruments!

Modulation

It’s easy to modulate a parameter in Massive X. Just drag any of the LFO / Env / Perf modulator sources (yeah, that cross/arrow icon) to a target parameter (white boxes). Those white modulation target boxes are almost invisible against that light grey background. I hope NI will fix this in an update. See the image below for further details.

Design Choices In Massive X

The designer of Massive X apparently decided to hide parameter values (numbers) to keep the really minimal design. Therefore, Massive X does not have animated LFO oscillations and modulation (parameter) animations like we have grown accustomed to in most other modern synths. This makes Massive X a bit hard to work with compared to say Serum or Omnisphere 2.

The ADSR envelopes are also static images at the moment.

It would be much easier to read an ADSR image display, than looking at 4 different knobs to realize how the ADSR of Massive X is set.

While I am sure and confident that Native Instruments is working hard to update Massive X. The current rendition feels like an early access version of the synth-to-come.

Anyone remembers Fallout 76?

Visual feedback is a crucial functionality for sound designers. Because, as a sound designer, I really want to have a visual feedback when I’m crafting new sounds and patches for my music.

Insert Effects

Insert Effects have been increased from the two slots we saw in the original Massive. You can now use up to three different effects in Massive X. While you can see some of the more usual effects like bit crushing and distortion modules, there is also some analog style oscillators that you can mix in with the dual wavetables. My favourite module is the Frequency Shifter effect which can really make the sound come alive.

Master Effects

In the final, rightmost section in Massive X you find the master effects. There are three effect slots with reverb, delays, chorus etc. The effects have a very nice quality and a big lift from the original Massive is that the reverb module now offers multiple reverb types.

Powerful delay

Did I mention that the delay also offers three different delay types (neutral, warm, hot) in Massive X? And the delay is also designed so you can select a set of different delay times. Then scan through these delay times with a fader (see image).

Massive X review – The Verdict

In conclusion, Massive X features a pristine sound engine with lovely creamy filters. Furthermore, it still needs some work on the user interface. I know NI is actively updating their softwares. So I’m sure we will have plenty of features and updates coming shortly.

Will Massive X replace Serum or vanilla Massive?

It’s hard to tell at this point.

At the current state Serum is still superior to Massive X in so many ways. In Serum we can design / import our own wavetables. We also get visual feedback for the envelopes, lfo oscillations and modulation etc.

Still, Massive X does come with some unique new features like the modular node editor and some really nice oscillator effects. I will need to come back to Massive X and do an updated review in a few months when it has had time to mature.

Thanks!

What gear I use in the studio? Check out the Resources Page.

Join my exclusive community: https://www.patreon.com/gelhein

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Boost Your Productions – Pristine Sound Packs

The post Massive X review – vst synth of the future? appeared first on Morningdew Media.

In the showcase video below I take you through the interface of Straylight and show off some of the soothing and cinematic textures courtesy of this capable sound engine.

Straylight – granular textures

Most granular plugins are based on the same principle, which means chopping up the audio in tiny pieces (about 0-30 ms) and playing those tiny pieces in various ways. Straylight begins with the same concept but takes this further with additional controls and parameters to control the grains in interesting ways. It also offers some really interesting modulation capabilities.

The granular vst plugin Straylight sound engine features two distinct separate sound engines. One called Grain, and a second called Sample. Grain is obviously the granular sound engine. In combination with the Sample engine Straylight will produce lovely atmospheres and crips textures. I was surprised over the quality of the factory presets. The patches are very well crafted and every sound inspired me to play new melodies and phrases. That’s what an instrument should do… inspire your creative mind!

What’s included with Straylight?

Straylight comes with over 360 sounds, including strings, glass, stone, membranes, and many more for the granular and sample modules. You will find over 380 carefully crafted presets in the library, categorised into Atmosphere, Lead, Transition, Pad, Keys, Effects, Subs and Pulses. All wrapped up in an smooth intuitive and easy-to-use interface.

Compatible with Kontakt 6 and Kontakt Player 6, Straylight is available $149/£129/€149 from the Native Instruments website now.

Want to learn more about granular synthesis & granular plugins?

If you like my Straylight review and want to learn more about granular synths you might also like a previous video and article that I did.

My top 4 granular plugins

Boost Your Productions – Pristine Sound Packs

The post Straylight review – Kontakt library showcase appeared first on Morningdew Media.

Welcome to the Phase Plant Review, a new modular VST synth plugin.

I recently got the Phase Plant synth from Swedish plugin company Kilohearts. The expectations wasn’t very high, since I hadn’t heard about Kilohearts before they reached out to me. But boy was I surprised to find this hidden gem among upcoming synths. When it comes to synthesis, I really believe that Phase Plant is in par with the competition like Serum, Omnisphere 2 and UVI Falcon.

In this Phase Plant review and video I talk about the various features of the VST plugin that makes it a really interesting newcomer.

Phase Plant – Overview

When you first open up Phase Plant you will notice the sleek interface. The grey (not too dark) tone reminds me of the first time I opened up Bitwig Studio. We will come back to the colours of Phase Plant later in this review. We have three main areas which is presented with a “non-obtrusive” text.

The main user interface areas of Phase Plant

• Generators
• Modulators
• Effects

While many synths that come out try different approaches to achieve a compelling user experience (UX). It’s not that often you see a solution that works. A solution that makes the experience of creating sounds compelling. Apparently the devs that developed Phase Plant really experimented on finding something that will both help us learn synthesis and work faster.

Phase Plant Factory Presets

So what’s the first thing you do when trying out a new synth? Yeah, you load up the factory bank and browse through some presets. This way you get to hear (and see) the synth in action. At the same time you also get to know the basics of the synth by looking at some pre-defined synth patches.

The quality of the presets are very high. In the Phase Plant factory bank you find patches designed by Kilohearts AND from renowned artists like ArtFX. Phase Plant bass patches are raw, dirty and in-your-face. Perfect for modern EDM bangers.

The post Phase Plant Review – New Modular VST synth from Kilohearts appeared first on Morningdew Media.

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