DMb | Dance Music blog & Podcast

We recently tested out Sugarbytes’ Guitarist VST Instrument and this is what we found.

PROS:
Can sound very realistic
Great songwriting tool
Useful wah pedal
Nice GUI

CONS:
Not always realistic
Lack of solo mode to enable playing of individual notes

OVERVIEW:
Looking to create guitar tracks without spending the time and effort to learn guitar? SugarByte’s Guitarist might be worth a look. Available for Win/Mac as standalone, VST, AU, or PPC plugin, Guitarist is advertised as a total guitar solution.

What IS Guitarist exactly? It’s a rhythmic guitar track generator that combines guitar sounds, an amp module and three effects modules with a series of step sequencers and a special effects section. Patterns (and entire songs) can be recorded and played back. For live use, the built in keyboard can be made to trigger sequences or change the current chord a sequence is playing.
It’s worth noting here that the keyboard which allows access to chords and patterns doesn’t provide any easy way to play single notes. So if you just want to play a melody (and disengage the sequencer) you’re out of luck. But for quickly generating rhythmic grooves and progressions, fortunately there’s a lot Guitarist has to offer.

DETAILS:
Guitarist contains 4 guitar types, 2 amp models (+direct), and three effects modules run in a fixed configuration. Effects include modulation,dynamic effects,reverb, delay, reverse and a 3-mode wah pedal. To build progressions and grooves, a chord sequencer is run through a pattern step sequencer (and also an animation sequencer for extra variation). Entire songs can be constructed by chaining patterns together in the song sequencer.
The keyboard can be used to play 24 user defined chords, with some of the keys acting as triggers for the patterns. Pressing a chord key will override the chord sequencer, and play that chord instead through the selected pattern. Another handy feature for playing live is the Action Section, which allows you to alter the groove with real time effects such as looper, timestretch, force slow, dead or damped notes.
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Image Line’s newest VST instrument has just been released which is basically a subtractive synth powered by an addititive synth engine. I’m already intrigued. To make things even better they are offering a special deal until the end of the year…Pay only what you think it is worth plus a few bucks to cover the fees and stuff. So go get the demo and they pick up this unique synth for a great price.

From the Press Release:

Image Line Software, the developer of FL Studio (formerly FruityLoops) has released its newest VSTi named Harmless. With a unique twist, Harmless is a subtractive synthesizer powered by an additive synthesis engine. Harmless has no tabs or hidden controls, with all features clearly visible in helpful color-coded groups. Over 100 parameters, most automatable, are available on the clear one-page GUI making Harmless perfect for live performance and sound-design experimentation. (more…)

KVR’s Developer Challenge for 2009 is winding down and voting is currently underway so go vote.

There are 42 entries: 40 of these are available for Windows, 6 for Mac OS X and just 1 for Linux. 39 are in the VST plug-in format, 1 is an AU plug-in and 3 are stand-alone applications. Go check out the free downloads and donate to the prize fund for the winners.

Continue for a complete list of entries
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I just stumbled across this new remix of the worn-out classic “Shiny Disco Balls” by Bad Boy DJs. Keep it fresh with a new mix.

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MP3: Zshare

So Antares just released Auto-Tune EFX which allows anyone to very easily achieve the Daft Punk – Cher vocal effect that has become quite commonplace lately.

From the Antares Website:

The quickest, easiest, most affordable tool for real-time pitch correction and creating the Auto-Tune Vocal Effect (the T-Pain/Cher-style effect).

Powered by the same ground-breaking Evo™ Voice Processing Technology as Antares’ Auto-Tune Evo, the latest generation of the worldwide standard in professional pitch correction, Auto-Tune EFX makes Antares-quality pitch processing accessible to anyone engaged in computer-based audio recording.

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I’m not sure how well this instrument would work with a DJ or Live set, but it would be interesting to see someone do it!

The iPhone Ocarina from Smule is the first instrumental application that turns the iPhone into a unique musical instrument. The traditional ocarina is a member of a very old family of musical instruments, dating back at least 12,000 years, in China and Mesoamerica. The Smule iPhone Ocarina brings this millenia-old musical tradition into the 21st century.

Here’s how it works. Once you’ve installed the application, hold the iPhone in such a way that you can conveniently press the four buttons while blowing into the microphone. That’s right; it’s a wind instrument.

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Cycling 74 has announced Max/MSP 5.0, the next-generation of their popular media development tools. This version offers a completely redesigned multi-processing kernel and a streamlined development environment built on a platform-independent foundation. With a new patcher interface, searchable database of objects and examples, integrated documentation and new tutorials, the new Max user will find a smoother learning curve while experienced users will see improved productivity.

This is Max for the next twenty years, CEO David Zicarelli declared. In addition to a modern infrastructure designed to support today’s multi-core processors and tomorrow’s operating systems, Max 5 features a new UI intended to aid in the expression of complex ideas in a fluid manner. Max’s concept of interactive graphical programming has enhanced greatly with their new presentation mode, which de-couples programming logic from user interface construction, allowing clearer patches as well as richer user interfaces. The idea behind Max 5 is to create a new paradigm so the users both advance and new can take advantage of their unique working environment.

Max version 5 will be available first quarter 2008 and, if used with its digital audio and video extensions, will require updated versions of MSP and Jitter. An upgrade price for Max 5 has not been announced.

Offical Website: Cycling74.com