Technology Reviews
Thu, Mar 4 2010
It’s the sound that launched the surf music craze in the early '60s, and Boss have brought it back into the twenty first century with the new addition to their Fender stompbox range, the FRV-1 Reverb Pedal.
Mon, Mar 1 2010
Spectrasonics’ latest softsynth, Trilian, is more than an update to their highly popular Trilogy, it’s a totally new instrument that might be able to solve all your bottom end problems forever.
Mon, Mar 1 2010
You may not know Mad Professor by name, but you'd certainly know his work, and that's why this 'Reel to Reel Reggae' Sample Collection is just so damn hot.
Thu, Jan 28 2010
There are so many sound cards and boxes on the market, and most of them are great - but choosing the best sound card is a different matter. Apogee has been one of the leading brands for years and has built, therefore, a reputation for making the best sounding digital convertors on the planet.
Thu, Jan 28 2010
iPhone music apps have been around for well over a year - they're highly popular. And Bebot by Normalware is gonna be one of those at the top of the list.Bebot offers far more fun than you could reasonably expect for £1.19. A synthesiser that you control with your finger - you play the notes you want by touching the screen and, by scrolling across the screen you manipulate the pitch, volume or filter cutoff parameters of the synth.
Thu, Jan 28 2010
It's one of the holy grails of synthesis: to be able to recreate the intricate and detailed sound of a piano without using samples. Pianoteq 3 must be, therefore, the holy grail of synthesis. Yes, you read that right! It's a 20MB Pianoteq download that runs as a plugin within your DAW; you simply load it in the usual manner and start playing.
Wed, Jan 6 2010
Nothing beats a new set of samples when you're looking for inspiration - but here's a collection you might not have considered. African Rhythms by Wave Alchemy is a download from the Loopmasters site that comes as a 167MB folder of .wav files.
Tue, Jan 5 2010
Native Instruments' Guitar Rig software has been the number one choice for guitar-based sounds for years. But this update, to edition four, could see them retaining the market lead for years to come.
Tue, Jan 5 2010
Djay 3, the exciting new DJ software by Algoriddim features two virtual record decks and a mixer. But what sets this app apart from its competitors is its ease of use; you simply drag and drop an audio file onto a deck and you're ready to go.
Sun, Dec 6 2009
Digital Performer, the flagship software audio workstation from MOTU, has just been upgraded to Digital Performer 7 and comes with some exciting additions. As well as a tidying up of the user interface, the best new addition is the inclusion of a new guitar amp and cabinet processor.
Mon, Nov 23 2009
The Roland TB303 holds a remarkable place in the history of synthesisers. Launched and lost in '82 it was rediscovered in '88 and became THE acid house bass synth. Now it's making waves again - through technoBox, Audiorealism's iPhone app emulation.
Mon, Nov 23 2009
Autotune was nothing short of a revolution when it was released back in 1997. It does have one crucial limitation though. Autotune and its rivals can only handle one note at a time.
Thu, Oct 29 2009
Apple released their new iMac models last week (October 20), and down at Rivmixx towers we've had the good fortune to play with a 21 inch screen version over the weekend. The first thing we noticed when we unpacked this computer is just how beautiful the screen is.
Thu, Oct 29 2009
The trouble with backing vocals is they're always last on your list. You've got your beats together, your bassline's sounding phat and even your vocalist has done a great job for once. And yet, something's wrong; for some reason it doesn't have the polished vibe you hear on your favourite tracks. And it's at this point that novice producers get out all their effect plugins to bully their track into sounding bigger and better. But often they're missing a simple but critical element: the backing vocals.
Thu, Oct 29 2009
Back in July we looked at SubBoomBass, the definitive synthesiser bass machine. Since then, it's appeared on dozens of dance floor hits and become ubiquitous in the charts. But what about Predator, the synth that SubBoomBass was developed from?
Fri, Sep 25 2009
Tim Exile is known across the world for his ground breaking live shows and fantastic 2009 album 'The Listening Tree'. But what's not so well known is that he's also a software developer with his first product hitting the shops right now.
Mon, Sep 21 2009
Spotify for iPhone is finally out and we've been mucking around with it for a few days now. The build up to this release has been nerve-wracking. We knew that you had to be a Spotify Premium subscriber (9.99 GBP a month) to use the app, but the big question was whether Apple would allow it onto the iPhone at all.
Mon, Sep 21 2009
The latest wave of iPods has just hit the shops. And, leading the pack, with the sexiest update is the iPod Nano - now with a larger screen, FM radio and a pedometer.
Fri, Aug 21 2009
FXpansion are mainly known for their excellent BFD drum libraries and player, so this new release is a departure for them. But the DCAM - Discrete Component Analogue Modelling - Synth Squad is the fruit of years of research developing a new form of synthesis. FXpansion claim to have recreated the sound of analogue synths by modelling actual electrical components within your computer.
Fri, Aug 21 2009
Logic 9, the latest upgrade to Apple's digital audio studio, is out now. But it's a development on the previous version, rather than a revolution. There are some great new features that are worth investigating though.
Fri, Aug 21 2009
To call the Audio 2 DJ small is an understatement. This audio interface is smaller than a cigarette box, lighter than an iPod and fits easily into your pocket.
Tue, Jul 28 2009
SubBoomBass, the latest softsynth from Rob Papen, is built for bass.Available for download www.robpapen.com for €99 (about 85GBP), it runs on Mac and Windows...
Tue, Jul 28 2009
These days we're spoilt rotten with multi-gigabyte drum libraries, but back in the 70s and most of the 80s you'd only get one kick and one snare sound from a drum machine. Sometimes you might not get a crash cymbal at all. Consequently, the supplied sounds in these ancient machines had to be spot on, and they usually were. Who could imagine house without the Roland TR909?
Tue, Jul 14 2009
Music producers often get very excited about 'loudness' maximisers, filters and sexy plug-ins, hoping that they'll add that elusive 'reality' and excitement into a mix. Sometimes loading up your favourite compressor can breathe life into a tired track, but more often you get an overly hyped mix that sounds like it's been squashed; not so good, and definitely not real. Maybe we need a different approach?
Thu, Apr 16 2009
DJ manufacturers often turn out some pretty adventurous products in a bid to forge new styles of DJing. We've seen shockers, like a guitar deck from Vestax, but the latest oddity comes from Wacom - a company better known for making PC tablets.
Mon, Mar 23 2009
The latest analogue synth from Future Retro is a blast from the past with its sea of knobs. Wealthy producers will be used to this sight from the likes of the revered MiniMoog synths, but these were expensive and could be costly to run.
Mon, Mar 23 2009
In a bid for world domination, software and hardware manufacturers Native Instruments have created an affordable version of their digital vinyl system Traktor Scratch Pro.
Tue, Mar 10 2009
Wires, don't you just hate em? Women hate the sight of them, men can't help tripping up on them, babies nearly kill themselves with them, and gerbils (don't ask) make a snack of them.
Fri, Feb 13 2009
Hot from NAMM, we’ve just unwrapped ourselves a fresh box of Cubase 5. Does it have what it takes to compete with Logic 8?
Fri, Feb 13 2009
Ableton 8 Beta is here. Rivmixx takes a look at the new features and what to expect in this exciting new update.
Thu, Jan 29 2009
Those poor Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs), you throw every effect under the sun at them and still you expect them to handle authentic vintage compression and EQ. Can the Liquid Mix ease their pain?
Thu, Jan 15 2009
Ever been on a train and tried to make music? Sure, the laptop will sit on that squeaky shelf in front of you but a midi keyboard? Forget it, unless the neighbouring commuter fancies losing Metro/coffee cup real estate and face it, that just ain't gonna happen.
Thu, Jan 15 2009
You might have every virtual instrument under the sun but what about using some real sounds for a change? We live in a noisy world, a place of constant sonic interest with soundbytes around every corner just gagging to be sampled and manipulated.
Tue, Dec 30 2008
Whilst there are several DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) available to act as the hub of any project or professional studio, few pack as much into the box as Logic Studio.
Tue, Dec 30 2008
Whilst Antares Auto-Tune enjoys a more celebrated profile for providing the studio staple that is tuning correction, many producers prefer Celemony’s Melodyne for the same task, as some believe it encourages a more creative approach both to tuning and harmony creation.
Tue, Dec 30 2008
If you’re a producer with plenty of sound sources available but you’re in the market for a posh-sounding effects suite to go to work on your carefully constructed sounds, Sonnox Elite could be just what you’re looking for.
Tue, Dec 30 2008
If you’re searching for a comprehensive set of sound design tools, effects processors and synthesisers to integrate perfectly within your host DAW and provide you with high quality sound production irrespective of musical genre, Komplete 5 is for you.
Tue, Dec 30 2008
Synths Ain’t What They Used To Be.
As software/hardware hybrids go, this is amongst the most interesting available out there in the marketplace. Bundling several classic synthesiser recreations into a single box.
Mon, Nov 24 2008
Touching screens to control things is no longer simply the preserve of buying a train ticket or searching for something in the library.
Version two of the Jazzmutant Lemur controller contains even more innovative features than the first version
Mon, Nov 24 2008
Want to take your keyboard use, in creating music and playing live, to the next level?
Novation’s ReMOTE SL keyboard won awards in the summer of 2008 for taking MIDI controlling a few stages further. Now the tech company are releasing a limited edition – 999 of them – update called the ReMOTE SL37.
Mon, Nov 24 2008
Many music nights are accompanied by futuristic video projection these days. Many bands have their own visuals when they play, and lots of DJs have started recognising the extra dimension that visuals can add to a show.
